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A couple who lives in Southeast D.C. is building a shop in Prince George’s County that will sell vegan burrito bowls and meat-free burgers named after rappers. Construction started this week on a 25-seat outpost of Philadelphia-based Gangster Vegan in Riverdale Park. It’s expected to open in January.
The new location will serve overnight oat and smoothie bowls to capitalize on the morning commuter traffic. Everything is made on-site, including raw desserts like the Mos Def banana chocolate pie or the Swizz Beets beet burger served on dehydrated onion bread. Menu items cost between $7 and $11 and also include juices, wellness shots, and salads like an “Esta Loca” with walnut taco meat and cashew nacho cheese.
Taneea and James Yarborough opened their first Gangster Vegan franchise with a stall in Baltimore’s Cross Street Market two months ago. Gangster Vegan Organics has three locations in Philadelphia, where the couple used to live before moving to Southeast.
The building that will house their health food restaurant in Riverdale Park also has a Bikram yoga studio and Vietnamese restaurant Banana Blossom Bistro.
“Baltimore has shown us a lot of love since we got there,” Taneea Yarborough says. “We’re making sure we’re hitting the right markets that are a natural fit.”
Opening next to a yoga studio and near organic grocery stores could help the shop draw in health-minded crowd.
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With three times the space of the Baltimore site, the Riverdale restaurant will also host entrepreneurs who encourage healthy lifestyle changes.
A former educator, Yarborough switched to a career where she could maintain a healthy lifestyle while raising two kids, ages 7 and 3. Eating healthier became a priority after she was diagnosed with cervical cancer last year and breast cancer this year.
“I want to get other people excited about eating well,” she says.
