A Second Act For Bad Vegan’s Sarma Melngailis

"Once a high-profile raw-vegan restaurant known for items like raw vegan lasagna and cocktail offerings such as “master-cleanse-tinis,” the restaurant’s former Gramercy space sat empty for years — dark, its brick-red walls whitewashed — after its collapse amid fraud, unpaid wages and bankruptcy. It attracted celebrity patrons in its heyday and later became the focal point of a hit documentary that reawakened public interest and controversy over the owner’s portrayal. The founder sees the site as the last independent project she loved and hopes to revive its mission of making plant-based food both healthy and fun, while investors and partners have debated leases, buyout figures and documentary plans for a possible reopening at the original Irving Place location." - Allen Salkin