The rebirth of Souley Vegan

By JR Valrey

One of the best things about summer in the Bay Area is exploring the local restaurant scene. One of the crown jewels in Oakland’s Jack London Square is Souley Vegan, which recently reopened after a three-year hiatus. The doors did not just reopen, Souley Vegan has been reborn. It has always had mouth-watering original dishes, but now there will be a retail store so you can experiment with being a vegan chef in your own kitchen. 

Saturday, July 25, Souley Vegan will be having its rebirth party at its new location in Jack London Square. Everybody is invited to pull up.

JR Valrey: Can you talk about the rebirth of Souley Vegan? When are the parties?

Tamearra: The rebirth of Souley Vegan is about more than reopening a restaurant — it’s about resilience. Souley Vegan has always represented creativity and showing people what’s possible. After everything we’ve been through, to be able to open our doors again in Oakland feels incredibly meaningful.

We’re celebrating our return on Saturday, July 25. We’ll be open for our regular lunch service, and from 5:00–9:00 p.m. we’ll host our official Reopening Celebration with music, great food, cocktails, beer and wine, and the community that has supported us for nearly 20 years. We want people to come celebrate not just a restaurant, but what perseverance looks like.

JR Valrey: Why did Souley Vegan close down three years ago? What have you been doing between then and now?

Tamearra: Like many independent restaurants, we faced a combination of rising costs and challenges that made it impossible to continue operating in our original location. Closing was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make.

But I never stopped building. During that time, we continued catering, private chef services, product development, consulting, pop-ups and expanding our retail food line. We spent those years refining recipes, developing new products, and creating a vision that would allow Souley Vegan to become much more than just a restaurant. Now we’re returning stronger, with multiple ways to serve our community.

JR Valrey: Can you talk about the new Souley Vegan store? What will y’all be offering?

Tamearra: The new Souley Vegan is designed to be more than a place to eat. It’s a restaurant, an event venue, a retail marketplace, and a production space all under one roof.

Guests can enjoy our signature Louisiana Creole-inspired dishes along with beer, wine and handcrafted cocktails. We’ll also offer our retail products — including house-made vegan meats, cheeses, sauces, frozen meals, desserts and merchandise — so people can bring Souley Vegan home with them.

Everything we make continues to be handcrafted in-house. We don’t rely on store-bought vegan meats because quality and originality have always mattered to us.

JR Valrey: Can you talk about some of the other programs that you will be offering?

Tamearra: One of our biggest goals is to make Souley Vegan a community gathering place again.

We’ll host private events, corporate meetings, cooking demonstrations, special dinners, live entertainment and community programming throughout the year – one thing I’m super excited about is our local talent night! I’m excited about providing a platform where our incredible artists coming out of Oakland can express themselves and have exposure.

Our vision is to create a destination where people can celebrate, learn, connect and experience great food all in one place.

JR Valrey: Why do you think Souley Vegan has been so popular in Oakland? I know that your restaurant was a regular hangout for the late D’Wayne Wiggins of Tony! Toni! Toné!, and the last time I came, I saw Freeway Rick Ross enjoying his food.

Tamearra: I think people connect with authenticity.

From day one, we’ve never tried to imitate anyone else. We create our own recipes from scratch, and we’ve always believed vegan food should stand on its own instead of trying to convince people they’re missing something.

Oakland has embraced us because this city values originality, culture and perseverance. We’ve been fortunate to welcome everyone — from neighborhood families to artists, athletes, entrepreneurs and public figures — but every guest is treated the same. Whether you’re walking in for the first time or you’ve supported us for years, you’re family.

That’s something D’Wayne Wiggins embodied every time he came in. He loved bringing people together, and Souley Vegan has always been a place where people from every background can share a meal.

JR Valrey: Why is it important for Black people specifically to explore vegan soul food?

Tamearra: For me, vegan soul food isn’t about giving up culture — it’s about preserving it.

Soul food tells the story of our history, our resilience and our families. My goal has never been to erase those traditions, but to show that we can honor them while creating dishes that many people find to be lighter and more plant-forward.

I don’t believe everyone has to become vegan. I simply want people to know they have options. If Souley Vegan can introduce someone to a new way of eating while keeping the flavors, memories and love that make soul food special, then we’ve accomplished something meaningful.

At the end of the day, it’s about expanding choices while celebrating our culture — not replacing it.

Connect with us at https://www.instagram.com/souleyvegan/ and https://www.facebook.com/SouleyVegan/.  

SF Bay View Editor-in-Chief JR Valrey is a veteran journalist who can be heard weekly on Wednesdays on 89.5FM KPOO or KPOO.com from noon to 3 p.m. His work can also be heard on www. blockreportradioworld.com. 

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