Midwest Monday: Colleen of Vegan Milwaukee

Midwest Monday continues with the first Milwaukee Monday! Today’s interview is with Colleen, the creator of Vegan Milwaukee. I met Colleen at a vegan meetup last year, and just last weekend we ate at Palomino and shared a Tiki Love Bowl at At Random, for my birthday with our own little meetup group. Colleen also attended Vida Vegan Con in August.

Follow Colleen on Twitter, and Facebook, where she posts all of the current vegan-related news in Milwaukee.

Questions? Questions!

How long have you been vegan in Milwaukee? What is your favorite meal and dessert here?
I’ve been vegan since 2004, vegetarian since 1998 and lived in the Milwaukee area my whole life. I’ve had some great meals here and my favorites are always changing, but I’ll always have a place in my heart for the vegan Reuben from Comet Café—that was one of those sandwiches I was trying to veganize years ago and never got quite right. Then, in about 2005 or 2006, I discovered their version with Field Roast and it satisfied that craving I had for so long. As for dessert, the Raspberry Nebula Soy or Espresso Oreo Soy at Babe’s Ice Cream is one of my favorite summer desserts. My other favorites are all the delicious cupcakes and cookies made by my awesome vegan baker friends!

What is Vegan Milwaukee and why did you create it?
VeganMilwaukee.com is a website I put together to gather all the vegan-friendly elements of the Milwaukee area. Over the years I had made a list of restaurants and stores that made my (vegan) life easier and I wanted to share that with everyone. In addition, there are several vegan and animal rights organizations doing great things in the community and I wanted to put those all in one place so that like-minded people could find them and get involved. One excellent side-effect of my efforts was that local restaurants, stores, salons and other businesses are starting to see how many potential vegan customers there are in Milwaukee and they’re actually reaching out to us for ideas on what they can offer to gain some loyal vegan customers.

What was your involvement in the Milwaukee vegan community before Vegan Milwaukee and how has it changed since you started the website?
Before I created Vegan Milwaukee I had attended several Meetups and the yearly M.A.R.V. Vegan Thanksgivings, but never got too involved. I did meet a handful of really great people, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do from there. Once I started getting active with the website and social media, I was overwhelmed by how many vegans there were in the city and how many of them never went to any of the organized events, for whatever reason. I was excited to be able to communicate with them and share ideas even though we didn’t see each other face-to-face. I’m hoping that by having this central point for all things vegan that the community in Milwaukee will become tighter and more people will want to come out and experience great food and make some new friends. I think it’s inspiring that there are vegans of all ages, backgrounds, and interests in our area and it’s really beneficial for us to put our heads together and continue making Milwaukee a great place for vegans.

Veganism has gone through some drastic changes recently. What new vegan options and opportunities have become available in Milwaukee in the past few years?
In 2004 (when I went vegan), there were very few restaurants that had any vegan offering. Essentially I only went to ethnic places where I knew I could order something that was “naturally” vegan. Although Fuel, Comet Café and Beans & Barley had some options, they were still very few…and then, Palomino arrived on the scene. Suddenly I could go out for sandwiches and fried food that I never experienced as a vegan before. Since then Comet expanded from a small café to a full restaurant and many other local restaurants have expanded their vegan options as well. I think it’s amazing that Milwaukee has four places where you can get vegan biscuits and gravy (one of my favorite brunch items), five places you can get vegan pizza WITH vegan cheese, one officially vegan bakery and tons of other local vegan bakers, and as I mentioned before…vegan ice cream! Milwaukee has really come a long way in 7 years and it just keeps getting easier and easier to find great vegan food. [I've only lived here for a little over 2 years, so it's great to hear about the strides veganism has made before that!]

What is the involvement of social media in Vegan Milwaukee?
Social media has really expanded my vegan horizons overall, so when I started the website, I knew that both Facebook and Twitter were going to be a big part of the effort. Twitter has been a great place to connect with people. I have a search set up that allows me to see anyone asking the Twitterverse where they can find vegan food in Milwaukee. I try to answer as promptly as I can and give recommendations when asked. It has been exciting to talk to all kinds of visitors to the area including bands, artists, and other great vegan folks. Facebook has been an excellent resource for sharing posts from other animal-rights/vegan organizations and for posting all those photos of vegan food from local restaurants. It’s a good way to have impromptu discussions as well.

You were just recently at Vida Vegan Con. What kinds of ideas did you bring back from the conference, and vegan-related traveling in general?
Vida Vegan Con was amazing—to see all these sincere, like-minded people in one place makes you feel like veganism is really growing.

One of the main areas I’m hoping to expand is my restaurant listing. Currently it’s just a list with a few comments on what’s available, but not a lot of opinions or reviews. It was really interesting to hear how some of the other vegan city websites address doing restaurant reviews and how it can be challenging to deal with a bad experience. I haven’t quite decided how I’m going to approach it, but I’m hoping to make the restaurant listings more robust by the end of the year. Ideas are welcomed!

Thank you, Colleen! Now come visit us, everyone! Midwest Monday will continue next week, and Buffy Tuesday is tomorrow, woooo!

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