BY BEX LARSEN

This week the Leguminati Bean Team made it's return to Tasty Takeover in the Milk District after a six month hiatus, and boy is it good to be back! The amount of support we receive at this particular event never ceases to amaze me. We were welcomed back in the warmest way, and seemed to have picked up right where we left off. Folks drove in from all over the state of Florida to grab our grub and show us love, just like old times.

For those of you unfamiliar with the event, Tasty Takeover started as a food truck gathering held once a week in Orlando's Milk District, and has expanded to other locations throughout the area, including Tasty Takeover Brunch at Will's Pub.

It can sometimes be intimidating as a vegan to attend events such as these, but Tasty Takeover has always been so supportive and inclusive of the vegan community here in Orlando. There is always a vegan vendor on the line-up (we currently alternate with Crust Vegan Pizza Kitchen), and several trucks that offer vegan options that are sure to satisfy. Between Da Kine's delicious plant-based poke bowl options, the authentic pancit noodles from Over Rice Food Truck, Tamale Co's extensive vegan selection, and Sushi and Seoul's avocado fries or veggie roll, you really can't go wrong. Never hesitate to inquire with the vendors about what options they might be able to veganize to suit your needs - they're all super friendly and accommodating, and it never hurts to ask!

You can catch us at Tasty Takeover in the Milk District again this month on Tuesday, December 26th, and at the monthly Tasty Takeover Brunch at Will's Pub on Sunday, December 31 alongside our friends at Crust Vegan Pizza Kitchen! This event went from being vegan friendly to a straight up vegan takeover - and we wouldn't have it any other way! Let's end 2017 on a high note, shall we?

Peep the Tasty Takeover Schedule online to stay up to date on when and where to find us and all the other incredible veg-friendly vendors in the area. Orlando is quickly becoming quite the mecca for vegan cuisine, and we're so grateful to the folks at Tasty Takeover for continuing to support and promote the growth of cruelty-free eats in Orlando!

WWW.TASTYTAKEOVER.COM

BY BEX LARSEN

Due to a series of unfortunate events, and a chain of texts and emails that have since been sent to our lawyers for further review, we have been informed that Sandwich Bar has decided to cancel our contract, just one week prior to our soft-opening, due to personal influences from select business owners in the neighborhood, who are also members of the Milk District Main Street Board. While this is all incredibly hard to swallow, being that we’ve lost hours upon hours in labor, spent thousands of dollars on renovations and equipment, paid rent for the space, placed orders with food distributors, and hired a staff, many of whom left jobs to come work for us.. we’ve decided that this was, perhaps, just one big blessing in disguise. We were meant for something bigger. While we were excited to collaborate with the other businesses in the Milk District, we have been bullied out of our shared space by someone whose role as a member of the board is to help grow the very community we were actively trying to grow and so excited to be a part of. We have decided to remain calm, stick together, and get back to business.. because we’re the Bean Team Dream Team, and that’s what we do. We are going to overcome every seemingly insurmountable obstacle with our chins up, heads held high, and hands grasped in unity. While we lost a lot of time and money on this project, what we gained was far more valuable. We came together as a team - a family. I found a friend, ally, and sense of fearlessness in the person I hired as my general manager, Bailee Polk. I found a brother, confidant, and adviser in my Leguminati co-owner Jeremy Joseph. I found a ray of sunshine, willingness to learn, and eagerness to overcome in my partner Nikki Namdar. But, most importantly, I found myself. I was able to take the nearly defeated, close to broken person that I was and build her back up in the way she was always meant to be built. I reminded myself of who I was, what I wanted, and what parts of me still needed some work. I took ownership of not only my business, but my life. And this obstacle isn’t for one second going to change that. I refuse to let it. If anything, this was the test I had been studying for all along.. I just wasn’t expecting a pop quiz! Before we were offered the opportunity to step in to share the space at Sandwich Bar, we had an entirely different plan. We were going to leave town. We were going to travel. We were going to explore. And we were going to do it while sharing our food and our message with folks all over the world. Much like a band goes on tour, I wanted to do that with my company.. with my team. I still do. We have decided to move forward by booking pop-up events in town, and will begin planning our Leguminati Cross Country Road Trip, tentatively scheduled for early next year. Our plan is to keep our mobile business growing here in Orlando while we do this. We love our followers and the community so much and refuse to let this setback slow us down. The comeback is ALWAYS greater than the setback, and we’ve prepared ourselves for greatness. We invite you to join us on this journey by following our blog as we continue to provide news and updates, and by offering aid in whatever way you can. Please let us know of any pop ups, catering events, festivals, or the like that we might be able to support, both in town and out of town, as we attempt to make back our investment in the Sandwich Bar. We will be selling food behind Etoile Boutique as a pop-up vendor this Saturday, November 25th 12-6pm for Small Business Saturday in the Milk District. We encourage you to come out, grab something to eat, and support your local small businesses. I appreciate your patience both personally and professionally as we begin to rebuild. Thank you for your continued love and support.

-Bex Larsen

Follow Bex on Instagram: @BexLarsen