Vegan Sisters Sarah And Maria Pinto Open ‘Rose & Joe- The Vegan Café’ in Mumbai

Mumbai gets an all-new vegan hangout, Rose & Joe- The Vegan Café in Versova. Started by sisters Sarah and Maria who along with their parents, Capt. Joseph and Rosemol Pinto turned to a vegan lifestyle for ethical reasons 7 years ago.

The sisters started off in their vegan journey by choosing to be vocal vegan activists. They took part in many outreaches where they got a chance to meet people and talk to them about what happens in animal farms and spoke about the benefits of a vegan diet.

“After 3 years fatigue set in. We got tired of repeating the same answers to people everyday,” says Sarah.

They both decided to continue their activism through different means and pursued their vocational interests on the side. They also joined their parents in helping the plant-based organization SHARAN in their work. Sarah then moved to Auroville for three years before returning during the pandemic.

THE ROSE & JOE CAFÉ

Their mother, Rosemol, is an excellent cook and had always wanted to start a café. The sisters took it upon themselves to bring this dream to fruition with the help of their parents. Their father is an active investor in the café.

“Both mom and Sarah are great cooks, while my background is art. Both of us sisters make a great team and anything we touch we turn to gold” adds Maria proudly.

They set forth on starting their café and named it after their parents, Rosemol and Joseph.

SUSTAINABILITY AND HEALTH

With Maria’s background in art, she ensured that when she was designing the café, sustainability was given utmost importance.

“The interiors are meant to give you a feeling of stepping out of a concrete jungle,” says Maria.

The furniture used is mostly preloved which has been refurbished with simple upholstery. The café features a lot of bamboo and Maria herself went and picked up fallen twigs and branches to design the lights of the café. They even use jute instead of cloth.

The sisters also do not want to encourage packaging of food in plastic and hence they do not offer a delivery option through any of the delivery apps. Instead, they can send you the food packed in recyclable boxes made from sugarcane bagasse. They also want to inspire people to bring their own boxes if they want to pack food and take it away.

As for the food, Sarah says, “there are already so many wonderful vegan cafes in Mumbai where you can get so much variety of different vegan cusines. We wanted to bring out food that we really love so we thought to keep it simple and stick to wholesome salads, smoothies and jucies and also offer snacks like vegan chicken nuggets for those who want it. And we really wanted to offer coffee, because no one can live without coffee”. The menu at the café has a lot of whole food plant-based options too.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The sisters have kept the café open to walk-ins from 8 am to 5 pm. They aim at attracting the people who like to venture out in the mornings unlike many cafes in the city. After 5pm, they plan to host events at the café for which tickets need to be bought in advance.

“We wanted to make the space available for events that we plan to host to highlight matters close to our heart like sustainability, LGBTQ matters, health and food through talks, demos, workshops and even fun experiences like trivia and movie nights,” adds Maria.

The café is also pet friendly with two cats and a dog that live with the Pintos as frequent visitors.

Rose & Joe- The Vegan Café
Bungalow No.49, Aram Nagar Part 1,
Versova
8 am to 5 pm
Ph: 9867907647
 

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