The Cafe: A Vegetarian/Pescatarian Dream

BY MAGGIE OLIVE KLEIN 

KONKLIFE STAFF WRITER AND EDITOR 

Are you a vegetarian/vegan/pescatarian, struggling to satisfy your palate and nutritional needs in Key West? Well, that’s completely normal, as there aren’t enough places that are veggie friendly! But, thanks to The Cafe, herbivores are able to get a variety of different delicious meals, in all different cuisines!

The Cafe offers a bunch of different, creative, and tasty menu items including Spinach Gyoza Dumplings, Curried ‘Chicken’ Salad (note the quotations!), Brussels Sprout White Pizza, and so many more. The restaurant has been around for 18 years and is quite successful, and recently, on July 1st, was purchased by new owners Dave Iannuzzi and Terri Pabst, who are very grateful to have been given this amazing opportunity. 

Iannuzzi, after being in the military for 24 years and having found a home in Key West about three years ago, was looking at opportunities to invest in Key West as a resident, more specifically within the restaurant field. After catching word of The Cafe being for sale, he inquired with Pabst, who has been in the food and beverage business for 30 years. The rest is history! 

When asked about the restaurant’s operations since purchasing, Iannuzzi says, “The restaurant has been going great. There has been a lot of enthusiasm about the new ownership.” He notes that the menu, for the most part, is being kept as is. However, he and Pabst have taken their creative liberty to adjust the specials: there is a daily pasta special, as well as a daily taco special. Iannuzzi says, “Moving forward, we want to refine the special menu a little bit, so there will be specials ranging within different ethnicities. We want to expand to Indian, Asian, Moroccan, and European dishes.” The Cafe has a very eclectic, Key West feel that Iannuzzi and Pabst admire, and plan to maintain and continue to invigorate in the future. 

Iannuzzi mentions that he notices vegans and non-vegans come in to dine at The Cafe, and are able to have food that is versatile enough that it can appeal to a wide spectrum of tastes. Many people often think of vegan food as being strictly leafy, or having a very earth-like taste. This is not the case, especially at The Cafe, where the Chefs are able to manipulate a customer’s tastebuds and almost trick them into thinking that what they’re eating is meat! Iannuzzi says, “Even though as a part owner of a vegan restaurant I am not a fan of cooked mushrooms, our Chef makes a cooked mushroom dish that tastes just like bacon, and I absolutely love it.” Iannuzzi has a laundry list of things that they plan to do in the future… keep your eyes peeled and your tastebuds ready. 

“We’re very fortunate that we have a great legacy, and we appreciate the former owners and all of their advice and counsel, and what we have to build from is phenomenal.” Iannuzzi says about the former owners. So, head over to The Cafe to experience vegan goodness!

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