Cozy Plum Charles White III is the owner and chef at Cozy Plum in Sebastopol. It’s a vegan restaurant, serving up comfort food. He and his business partner Lisa Le Donne opened their first restaurant in Santa Rosa in March of 2020 and then opened a second location in Sebastopol in May of 2023. Although they closed the Santa Rosa location, Cozy Plum in Sebastopol is quickly becoming a beloved local restaurant where meat eaters are discovering they, too, can love vegan foods. “For a short period, we were the first vegan chain in the history of Sonoma County, which I wore as a very proud feather in my cap.” White says. “That unfortunately didn't last. We had to close Santa Rosa for a multitude of reasons. “We're doing our best to stay afloat and that's about as good as it's going to get right now,” White says. He says he often hears that Cozy Plum looks busy but that can be deceptive. “That’s true for an hour at lunch and an hour at dinner,” White says. “But that does not pay the ever-increasing food costs, the ever-increasing wages and the ever-increasing taxes,” he says. “It is incredibly expensive.” White’s background wasn’t in the food industry and his business partner is a teacher. So they did the practical thing and hired professionals in real estate and the restaurant industry to help them navigate this new venture. That didn’t help when it came to the daunting reality of the restaurant business.
“None of the things that we were estimated, quoted, promised were even close,” White says. “It was an uphill battle from before COVID.” They were estimated to need about $10,000 in upgrades to the property, White says. “It turned into $70,000.” They were told the sale would require about a three- month escrow. “It was a seven-month escrow,” he says. “During that time, we had to employ the [staff], and it was a huge money suck. We were exhausted and depleted before we even opened, because at about three months, we're psyching ourselves up to open any day and any day dragged into four more months.” They did all their wage number-crunching at $12 an hour, but that began to climb and within three years it was $17.06. “As a mom-and-pop who were rookies, that's asking way too much,” White says. That’s not taking into consideration how much more expensive some of the vegan ingredients are. White believes that if he served vegetarian offerings instead of vegan he’d be profitable quickly, but he’s committed to his vegan restaurant offerings. One typical example he cites is the difference in the cost of mayonnaise. A gallon container of Best Foods regular mayo costs $34.99. A one-gallon container of vegan mayonnaise, meanwhile, is $129.99. “It's $100 more for the exact same amount,” says White. “Now that's true for every bit of dairy that we use.”
Coming Soon to NorthBay biz
November Employment, Staffing and Engagement
In recent years, challenges of staff retainment and broadening lifestyle expectations among employees have resulted in a whole new expectation of what a “day at the office” looks like. Remote… hybrid… equity… engagement… NBb takes a look at the issues, trends, challenges and opportunities facing today’s employers and employees.
Special Issue Senior Living
The North Bay population is among the oldest in the Bay Area and that’s the good news! People are living longer, healthier lives than any generation before. In this issue, we look at the issues, businesses, trends, people and services available to help make growing older truly golden.
52 NorthBaybiz
October 2024
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