The new Gray Leaf Cafe offers vegan food, local coffee in Freehold Township
Grilled falafel, Buffalo cauliflower and chickpea "tuna," plus smoothies, juice and coffee are on the menu at Monmouth County's newest vegan restaurant.
Gray Leaf Cafe opened in January in Freehold Township's Poets Square plaza, but owner Vincent Gulino has been cooking plant-based cuisine on his food truck, Try Vegan, for nearly a decade.
Gulino decided to become vegan after giving up dairy had a positive impact on his health.
"That's why I named it Try Vegan," he said of his business. "I tried it and really liked it, and I want people to try it."
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A former retail manager, Gulino, 35, of Wall admits he's not a chef. "But I know what tastes good, and I know how to get there."
He also realized good vegan food was lacking back in 2015 when, as a frequent visitor to large music festivals, he often couldn't find anything to eat but a cup of fruit from a food truck or a vendor making smoothies.
"The vegan scene was different," Gulino said. "When I started, the options were nothing.
"I saw this coming," he said of the rising popularity of plant-based eating, "and saw there weren't many options for vegans."
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Ready to take a break from retail, "I knew if I could get a truck and build it myself, I could do it," Gulino said.
Gulino spent a summer converting two old shuttle buses into food trucks, launched Try Vegan at a food truck festival in Trenton, then dove into being a vendor at music festivals up and down the East Coast. Nearly a decade later, his festival season begins with New York City's Governor's Ball in June, ending in September with Asbury Park's Sea Hear Now festival.
Gulino first began searching for a brick and mortar location before the pandemic. During COVID, he turned his attention to a meal-prep component of Try Vegan. Then a former Chinese restaurant off Kozloski Road in Freehold Township became available.
He spent a year renovating the space, which included installing a vertical hydroponic garden in the dining room that grows kale, lettuce, basil and dill.
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The menu at Gray Leaf Cafe, which includes housemade sauces and cheese, includes dishes from the food truck. The most popular menu items are a crunchwrap made with black beans and salsa; a grilled falafel wrap with hummus, tahini, cucumber, lettuce, tomato, red onion and housemade tzatziki; and a Buffalo cauliflower wrap filled with roasted cauliflower, celery and Buffalo sauce (all $13.50).
The cafe also serves housemade kombucha, and coffee from Turnstile Coffee Roasters in Belmar.
Gulino said he would like Gray Leaf Cafe to be a vegan restaurant for customers searching for one, a juice and smoothie bar for people who enjoy them, and a coffee shop for customers who want to sit down and work with a cup of coffee.
"I want to be known for those things," he said.
Go: 58 Thoreau Drive, Freehold Township; 732-334-8843, grayleafcafe.com.
Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to [email protected], follow on Instagram at Jersey Shore Eats and subscribe to our Jersey Shore Eats newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Gray Leaf Cafe offers vegan food, local coffee in Freehold Township
