Souley Vegan is a vegan soul food restaurant group based in Oakland, California in the United States. Their only remaining location closed in October 2023, although the owner intends to reopen elsewhere.[1] Their flagship restaurant was in Oakland. The restaurant group is owned by chef-founder Tamearra Dyson. They had additional locations, which have since closed, in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and San Francisco.
History
Tamearra Dyson opened Souley Vegan in Oakland in 2009. Dyson, a single mother attending nursing school while working in healthcare, has been vegan since she was seventeen. She began cooking vegan food for the general public at a local farmers market in 2006. In 2009, she quit her healthcare job and opened Souley Vegan in West Oakland.[2] She completely funded the opening herself without investors. To this day, Souley Vegan remains solely funded by the business itself, no investors. Dyson's made her mission to educate the Black community on how to eat healthfully. Initially, Souley Vegan's guests were 95% white. As of 2020, 60% of her customers were Black.[2]