Soon to open its doors in Oxford, UK is Happy Friday Kitchen, Oxford’s first every fully vegan restaurant.
The owner of Happy Friday Kitchen, which is set to open this autumn, is 24-year-old Lola Dixon. The menu at the restaurant will consist of comfort food, inspired by Dixon’s recent road trip across California.
Although Dixon doesn’t live in Oxford herself, residing 30 miles away in Newbury, on the occasions that she’d visit her friends there something seemed strikingly obvious: there were plenty of vegans, but not enough places to get vegan food. Dixon told LIVEKINDLY ‘I found that Oxford had a large vegan community but no completely vegan restaurants.’
With a degree in Professional Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management and having moved from job-to-job since she was 16 years old, Dixon felt it was time to do something she really loved. ‘I found myself getting restless and moving on to the next job because I wasn’t doing something I was really passionate about,’ she says, ‘so I decided to hand in my notice for good and start Happy Friday Kitchen.’
Her menu will comprise of a lot of comfort food favourites, some of which may be surprising to people not familiar with vegan alternatives. The menu will include ‘a fried chicken burger, chilli cheese dog, mac ‘n’ cheese, burritos, nachos, burgers, pizzas and a few ‘Buddha bowls’ for those wanting to eat a little healthier.’ In addition to this, there will be a selection of fresh baked goods every day.
Alongside Dixon’s other jobs, she has previously supplied cakes for some of her local coffee shops and baked bespoke celebration cakes, giving her plenty of experience to stock the Happy Friday Kitchen with all sorts of delicious sweet treats.
Happy Friday Kitchen won’t just appeal to vegans, though, Dixon says she ‘want[s] meat-eaters, vegetarians and vegans to all be able to enjoy a meal together and to find something they love on the menu.’
Dixon herself, however, is partial to pizza, of which there will be three options at the Happy Friday Kitchen, although she is hoping to expand the range in months to come. ‘My ideal Friday night consists of eating pizza and watching horror movies,’ she told LIVEKINDLY.
As yet there is no official opening date for Happy Friday Kitchen, however, Dixon anticipates it will be open by the end of November ‘if all goes according to plan!’
Image credit: Happy Friday Kitchen
