VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - At News 3 we love highlighting small businesses that make this area so special.
News 3's Anthony Sabella caught up with one of his favorites, Desmond's Island Soul Grill.
“Folks will come in and they’ll say you know it smells good in here. And then, they’ll look at the menu and be like is this vegetarian? And I say it’s vegan. And they say oh man… And I’m like the first you said when you came in here is it smells good in here so try something,” owner Shavonne Alexander said.
Then customers are usually hooked because the flavor most are looking for is probably at Desmond's Island.
“Our jerk barbecue jackfruit is one of our popular items,” Alexander said.
Executive Chef and Owner Shavonne Alexander, Chef Will Riddick, and their team have been bringing hospitality and comfort to Virginia Beach for five years now.
Desmond's Island Soul Grill on Reon Drive is known for its Guyanese-influenced, Caribbean inspired menu. It's the food Alexander, a New York native, grew up eating with a vegan twist.
“To give folks who don’t eat meat, dairy or eggs a place to have a full meal and not just a salad,” she said.
The restaurant wasn't always vegan. That change came three years ago.
And it caught on fast, catching the attention of famous vegan, and all around positive person, Tabitha Brown.
“We did really well compared to what we did in 2019 because of our transition. We did much better,” Alexander told News 3.
The success lasted through the pandemic. We visited when dine-in shut down in 2020. Take out carried the vegan restaurant then, and it did for another two years. They didn't bring back the tables until last week.
“Now in 2022 with inflation and everything else, now we’re doing this little wobble which is the reason I haven’t gotten next door open yet,” owner Alexander said.
Desmond's is expanding. Alexander leased the space next door and has big plans for it.
“It’ll be full service like we used to do when we had the full dine-in experience,” she explained.
Rising costs have made the process slower and more expensive than expected. At best, she says the expansion could open in a few weeks, but there's no set date.
She said she does know one thing, she doesn't plan to have televisions in there because she just wants customers to talk. That's just the vibe here at Desmond's.
Alexander named it for her dad, gone 22 years now. Here, family comes first. Whether it's taking care of her son or the family she continues to build through her food.
“His middle name is Desmond so he shares that connection to him,” she told us.
