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Hang Space co-owners are, from left,Tracy Flitcraft, Dave Witte and April Viar; not pictured is co-owner Mark Flitcraft.
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The inside of Hang Space blends restaurant and cafe vibes with a variety of seating, including couches.
Richmond’s plant-based offerings continue to sprout across the city. The newest addition is Hang Space, a 100 percent vegan eatery from the forces behind the Go Go Vegan Go food truck and Yummvees catering, expected to open in mid-November at 8000 Buford Court in Bon Air.
April Viar and partner Dave Witte began operating Go Go Vegan Go two years ago, making their debut at the annual Richmond Veg Fest. A few months prior, Tracy Flitcraft launched Yummvees, a vegan catering and meal prep business, and quickly realized she was outgrowing her commercial kitchen.
Both vegan companies were on similar paths, and when the owners met, they instantaneously clicked. Beginning last year, plans to team up and open an eatery and event space were underway.
“Good food is good food, and I think that’s how it is for both our businesses,” says Flitcraft, who turned to the vegan lifestyle after watching the documentary "Food Inc." Her husband, Mark Flitcraft, is also a partner in the business.
“I had a neurological shift,” says Flitcraft, who recently celebrated 10 years of veganism. “[Being vegan] opened up a love of cooking I never knew I had.”
Although the food at Hang Space will be completely vegan, the eatery is intended for everyone.
“Hopefully we’ve chosen things that appeal to everyone, and that’s the goal, not to just appeal to vegans,” explains Viar, a vegetarian since middle school who later turned vegan.
The 1,000-square-foot dining space is cozy, a quirky balance of overstuffed couches and two-, four- and six-person tables offering a living-room-meets-dining-room kind of vibe, scattered with local art and vintage finds that have been given new life.
The menu at Hang Space focuses on flexibility, and guests can look forward to frequent changes to keep it fresh and exciting — favorites will remain, but culinary surprises await diners on each visit.
Comfort food is a big component of the Hang Space menu. Start the day with savory breakfast sandwiches on house-made biscuits or warm, hearty potato skillets, along with a heavy dose of pastries such as cinnamon buns and muffins. The restaurant will offer drip coffee from Dark Matter in Chicago.
Lunch, which the owners say can double as dinner, presents robust options ranging from a chicken Parmesan sandwich to burgers — both black bean and the Beyond burger — along with mac and cheese.
A carnivorous mainstay is meat and potatoes. Declares Hang Space, hold the meat and bring on all the starchy tubers.
“We’re potato people,” says Flitcraft, laughing.
Mashed potato bowls will be a Hang Space staple with rotating options. When the restaurant opens it doors guests can expect barbecue tofu and fried chicken and gravy bowls — comforting classics.
The grab-and-go case at Hang Space will serve as a mini vegan market, stocked with a mix of prepared foods including "chicken" salad subs, Italian hoagies, rice noodle bowls and salads, along with homemade cashew “cheez,” "butter," pasta, sauces, dips and snacks. Don’t worry, dessert is not an afterthought. Hang Space’s sweet side includes from-scratch chocolate truffles, no-bake "cheese" cakes, mini pies and cookies.
“Lots of people that eat meat really enjoy our food, and I think the mission is to not ram veganism down your throat and [let you] make your own choice,” explains Witte, a drummer in various bands including Municipal Waste.
“I traveled a lot and was never vegan, but there’s so many options out there appealing to everyone,” he says. “It’s not just microwave Morning Star anymore.”
Flitcraft says her dad wasn’t on board with vegan food and refused to try her cashew cheese ziti. She dragged him to the Go Go Vegan Go food truck, and to this day he still hails the Beyond burger as one of the best he’s had.
“It’s always great to hear,” says Viar. “People will approach us and see 'vegan food truck' and be apprehensive, then [they] come back and are like, ‘I just have to tell you, I’m not vegan, but that was amazing.”
The team aren’t trying to convert or place judgment on nonvegans; in fact, they hope that through their eatery people think more about the food they consume and that their clientele is a blended mix of curious eaters.
“[We] approach it with [an attitude of] ‘Hey, try something, I promise you’ll love it,’ ” says Flitcraft. “One hundred percent of the time, in our case, people have, and they’ve been shocked.”
Hang Space will be open Tuesday and Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday and Friday from noon to 7 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and closed Sunday and Monday. The space will be available to rent for private events, meetings and other functions.
