Animal rights advocates and vegans have returned to Strong Hearts Cafe in strong numbers since it reopened Nov. 11 after two weeks of renovations.

The vegan establishment, located on 719 East Genesee St., temporarily closed its doors on Oct. 28 for a complete remodeling. The store kept to its two-week deadline for renovations, focusing not only on the aesthetics of the dining area, but the reason the cafe became so popular: the kitchen and its menu.

Owners Nick Ryan and Joel Capolongo have been in business together since 2008, and wanted their restaurant to focus on food and catering to vegans in the community. To do that, Ryan said, they needed a bigger workspace.

“We needed more room in the kitchen to work with the new additions to our menu,” Ryan said. “We wanted to give the customers everything we love about vegan food, so we expanded.”

Additions to the menu include new vegan pizza combinations for the restaurant’s Friday specials, garlic bread sticks, a tofurkey club sandwich, winter kale soup and its humorously named eggs benditrick, a play on words for the soy substitute.

Ryan said both he and Capolongo are “psyched” about the new menu items and, according to rising sales, so are the customers. The recent best sellers are all new additions, with the tofurkey club being the most popular among both vegans and nonvegans.

While the renovations sacrificed a small portion of the dining area for kitchen improvements, it did not take away from the original, laid-back, inviting feel of the restaurant. Lost seating space was compensated for with a new booth area.

Ryan said he wanted the cafe to keep returning customers coming back.

“The look is similar to before the renovation,” he said. “It’s a chill hangout space to drink good coffee, eat good food and be with friends.”

Syracuse University student Ethan Fleming Gilbert, a sophomore political science and international relations major, is just relieved to have Strong Hearts Cafe up and running again.

“It’s really difficult to find good vegan food in this area,” he said. “Strong Hearts Cafe gives me so many options and helps me stick to my vegan diet.”

Ryan said he hopes the increase in business will continue at a rate similar to the two weeks after the reopening.

In the first week since the reopening, Ryan said, the number of visitors rose, which he sees as a sign of progress.

Said Ryan: “People seem to be responding to the new atmosphere and we’re really excited about that.”

Published on November 26, 2012 at 11:49 pm

Contact Erin: erkelly@syr.edu