Vitriolic vegans torrent of abuse

The owner of a Chestergate vegan cafe who decided to put meat on the menu after struggling with costs has said he has since received a torrent of abuse and fake reviews.

Adonis Norouznia of Nomas Gastrobar added meat options in January to help bring in more customers.

He said he had been targeted online with “really wild” comments, with some people suggesting the cafe would be setting up a slaughter house next.

“They were telling us to die,” he said.

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Mr Norouznia said some of the reaction, which had also been directed at his wife, had showed him “some people don’t have any humanity”.

His family worried “someone would pass by and smash a window” due to their anger, he said.

“But then we realised they were just on the keyboard, not even from this town, and maybe not this continent.”

The couple have been accused of not being “true vegans” and Mr Norouznia said scores of people had even left bogus reviews about the cafe online.

He added: “They were telling us, ‘what else are you going to do for the sake of making money, you’re going to slaughter animals in there, you’re going to sell animal organs,’ they even talked about human trafficking.

“I have nothing to say to them, I am really sorry if our choices made them feel unhappy, but this is the world, one small independent cafe is not going to change it.”

The cafe was opened in 2021 by Mr Norouznia and his family, who are all vegans, as an eatery which only offered plant-based options.

But he said high inflation and a 40% drop in sales in 2023 forced the business into adding meat, eggs and dairy in a bid to expand the customer base.

“Every day we had people walking in, taking the menu, having a look, they couldn’t find anything, they didn’t want to eat vegan food, and were just walking out,” Mr Norouznia said.

“We couldn’t afford to keep taking the hit. For me it was a very difficult decision.”

Announcing the change on social media the cafe had said: “We have made the difficult yet necessary decision to introduce a thoughtfully curated selection of high-quality, responsibly sourced meat and dairy options to our menu.”

Mr Norouznia said: “I wasn’t vegan all my life, just for six and half years, I used to eat meat and know how to cook it.”

He urged the trolls and his critics to “step in his shoes” before they judged his decision and consider the struggles of a small business.

ilovemacc suggests that next time you’re in town, call in for a coffee or snack, and show your support for Adonis and his family.