The following is excerpted from a post that appeared on Maui Vegan Life.
Vegan restaurants started appearing on the mainland in the mid-seventies. Maui was late to the party. The first documented vegan restaurant here was established by Gentle World in 1989 or 1990.
“When we got to Maui, you could open a restaurant in a little town, and so we had the first vegan restaurant on Maui,” recalled Light in a 2023 interview. “We had a sign over the door like the one McDonald’s has saying, ‘A billion served,” but ours said, ‘A million saved.’ On every table, we would have all these quotes of famous people. We were trying to turn people on to veganism.”
Located at 115 Baldwin Avenue in Paia, “The Vegan” featured Hummus Salad, $4; Vegan Burger, $3.95; Smoothies, $2.75; Tofu Veggie Lasagna, $6.95; and organic and herbal beverages. (In more recent years, the vegan Fresh Mint and vegetarian Maka by Mana restaurants operated at the same address.)
(Along with the mouthwatering dishes that are Gentle World’s claim to fame, customers were served the vegan message in the form of educational materials and inspiring quotes on every table.)
As pleasing as The Vegan must have been, Maui now has many more options. Eight vegan cafés, food stands, and trucks, as well as vegan items at farmers’ markets and grocery store deli sections, offer many approaches to vegan cuisine.
That’s progress!
