Speaker 1: D and Will Johnson from veganberg in out there Insparia
Speaker 1: and we welcome them to the show.
Speaker 2: Hey folks, heyhow how the going.
Speaker 3: Hey, I got it going very well.
Speaker 2: So.
Speaker 3: Uh. It takes, as you know, doing what you do.
Speaker 1: It's hard to do what you do and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: with YELP and all these things, and to look at
Speaker 1: the fact that you guys are so beloved online and
Speaker 1: off must be a great point of pride for you.
Speaker 2: Yes, that is very true. First and foremost, thank you
Speaker 2: Andrew for giving us the opportunity, you know, for this interview.
Speaker 4: Uh.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the love is shown very much so through vi A, YELP,
Speaker 2: thee A, Google, our personal customers, family support obviously. Uh,
Speaker 2: you know, Andrew, thank you for the you know, for
Speaker 2: this interview. I had no idea that he even felt
Speaker 2: so so highly favored of us. So we just thank
Speaker 2: you guys so much.
Speaker 5: Well, just so everybody knows. Before Neil continues the interview,
Speaker 5: this I never I rarely put an endorsement behind places
Speaker 5: and for for southern California, people that go between Vegas
Speaker 5: and LA that are clean and healthy eaters. This is
Speaker 5: this is a place that people stop to to they
Speaker 5: they have to stop here to eat because this is
Speaker 5: this is probably one of the best non meat places
Speaker 5: I've ever been in my life to eat that they're
Speaker 5: they're in the high desert. So I'll let Neil continue
Speaker 5: the interview.
Speaker 1: No, you jump in any time, Andrew, I think, and
Speaker 1: it's he's being honest. He you know, he's had access
Speaker 1: to me for a long time and it's not like
Speaker 1: he comes in every day saying how about these people?
Speaker 3: How about these people? How about these people?
Speaker 1: So a special act for him to say this place
Speaker 1: is special.
Speaker 3: I've not been.
Speaker 1: But I'm looking through the menu and doing a little
Speaker 1: mind tasting right now as we often do on the program,
Speaker 1: and these are spectacular combinations of flavors and textures just
Speaker 1: by the ingredient list. Now the fact that they're plant
Speaker 1: based as well makes it, you know, even more spectacular.
Speaker 3: So explain how long you've been around what you know?
Speaker 1: The mission statement is your focus is of vegan Berg.
Speaker 4: So we have been in business.
Speaker 2: We just celebrated our one year anniversary April fifteenth. We
Speaker 2: are the first franchise owners of Veganberg. The original one
Speaker 2: originates in Singapore, so we decided that we wanted to
Speaker 2: move forth with this chain because, like you mentioned, the
Speaker 2: fresh ingredients. We did have to localize of course, just
Speaker 2: because of the different countries. But I wanted to give
Speaker 2: back to our community because I've seen that by us
Speaker 2: going to plant based this worked for my husband. So
Speaker 2: I wanted to, you know, not just have you know, vegetarians,
Speaker 2: not just to have vegans here. I wanted flexitarians to
Speaker 2: also enjoy the meals that we do have prepared because
Speaker 2: I feel that it's for everyone.
Speaker 1: So did either of you taste the vegan Berg in
Speaker 1: Singapore or how did you hear about that?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 5: Yeah, we did.
Speaker 2: So I wanted to open up a restaurant, and I'm
Speaker 2: not my history is not from the restaurant industry, but
Speaker 2: I do cook very often. So as I was trying
Speaker 2: to get established with opening up a restaurant, I did
Speaker 2: come across Veganberg and per my research, there was a
Speaker 2: location out in San Francisco, and we decided to drive
Speaker 2: up to San Francisco. US in the family and my
Speaker 2: kids are meat eaters, and so I said, you know,
Speaker 2: let's get them to try the food and we're not
Speaker 2: going to tell them, of course, that it's vegan. And
Speaker 2: they fell in love with the food. So we decided
Speaker 2: to reach out to the franchise and we wanted to
Speaker 2: open up here. But before we did get started, my
Speaker 2: husband Will and I we did fly out to Singapore
Speaker 2: and just a wonderful man, Alexander Tan he is the
Speaker 2: founder of Beigenberg. What an amazing man and he just
Speaker 2: made us feel that much more stronger to decide to
Speaker 2: bring this back to the US.
Speaker 3: That's amazing.
Speaker 1: Right now we're talking to d and Will Johnson from
Speaker 1: vegan Berg there in Hysperia. What a cool thing to
Speaker 1: be able to bring something to the States. This only exists,
Speaker 1: vegan Berg only exists in Singapore until you bring it here.
Speaker 1: Was it franchised at all, even in Singapore?
Speaker 4: Yes, what they do have at the moment they have
Speaker 4: one location in Singapore and then they opened up one
Speaker 4: location in San Francisco.
Speaker 1: Oh wow, So that's that's pretty exciting to be on
Speaker 1: the crest of a wave like this.
Speaker 3: And you folks from Hysperia.
Speaker 4: Yes we are. Yes, by the way of Los Angeles.
Speaker 4: We moved out of Los Angeles to Hysperia and around
Speaker 4: two thousand and five and we've been made it from
Speaker 4: the high desert since then.
Speaker 2: Wow.
Speaker 3: You're smart people moving out of LA I mean it
Speaker 3: really is. It really is lovely there.
Speaker 1: It's like you can feel you can feel the weight
Speaker 1: of Los Angeles off your shoulders. My wife and I
Speaker 1: have a place in Big Bear and we will sometimes
Speaker 1: go via the via what we refer to as the
Speaker 1: back way because it is.
Speaker 3: What's that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we love the We love Big Bear.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, it's great. It's a stone's throw for you.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Do you guys ever use.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you guys ever use the term that's hyperical.
Speaker 3: My wife hates that joke, that one. I love it.
Speaker 4: I have to put that in the I'm to put
Speaker 4: that up in the restaurant.
Speaker 3: Use that on the side.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's spectacular that this uh smoking barbecue looks fantastic.
Speaker 2: That is one of our cop sellers. Yep, your name
Speaker 2: is the ones that that sells them most. So our
Speaker 2: smoky barbecue first, first, and foremost. Our patty is our housemates.
Speaker 2: So we have two housemade patties, which one is a
Speaker 2: crispy patty. It's a soy protein patty. We do the
Speaker 2: crumb mix in house, and then our grill patty is
Speaker 2: made out of Chautauqi mushrooms. Kel carrots, onion, cellar and seasoning,
Speaker 2: so our customers do have the options between a grilled
Speaker 2: and a crispy patty. And then some of our top
Speaker 2: favorites are our smoky barbecue, which have that grilled patty
Speaker 2: with some caramelized onions, vegan cheese, vegan bacon, red onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles,
Speaker 2: and our vegan male. We do make all of our
Speaker 2: sauces in house. Our shroomsburg as a mushroom sauce that
Speaker 2: we do prepare fresh with some caramelized onions, lettuce. That's
Speaker 2: our crispy patty. Those are like our main two. One
Speaker 2: of my personal favorites is the Abval Beats, very fresh,
Speaker 2: very clean and includes our grilled patty with lettuce, tomatoes,
Speaker 2: red onions, beets, sprouts, avocado. It's really it pairs really good.
Speaker 2: But a lot of people do come in for our
Speaker 2: Carnia sader fries. Everybody is h is unbelieved by how
Speaker 2: great they paste well.
Speaker 1: I mean, the food tech continues to grow. I mean
Speaker 1: that I'm just a good food person and so I'm
Speaker 1: like if it's if it's tasty, I'll eat it. I
Speaker 1: don't care you know what it's made out of plant based. Fantastic.
Speaker 1: I love doing that, and you reference this before. Nothing
Speaker 1: better than having an omnivore or carnivore come in and
Speaker 1: bite into something and just love it because it's delicious. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know the fact that it is you know the
Speaker 1: fact that that it's plant based, that's just a bonus.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. We also offer gloom free items as well,
Speaker 2: because we do have a lot of gluten intolerant people,
Speaker 2: so we do have patties, buns, and and and appetizers
Speaker 2: for gloom free people.
Speaker 1: Well, that's great, That is fantastic, and that makes you
Speaker 1: know there are people out there with siliacs and the
Speaker 1: like and having those options for them as well.
Speaker 3: I yeah's a great way to do it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, intolerant or dairy free, sure, that's that's it's great.
Speaker 4: It's great.
Speaker 1: So I tell you what, We got to get our
Speaker 1: asses out to Hysperia and you know, do a show
Speaker 1: out there because it's hard for you guys to bring food.
Speaker 1: You know, we cover all of southern California, but we're
Speaker 1: in burbank, so it's hard to be able to take
Speaker 1: your food and travel here. So we got to come
Speaker 1: out that way and talk to some of the folks
Speaker 1: out there, because there's some wonderful food options of which
Speaker 1: you are one, and I'll come check it out next
Speaker 1: time we're pulling.
Speaker 3: Off the fifteen.
Speaker 2: That sounds great.
Speaker 1: Tell everybody where they can find you on social media
Speaker 1: and your location.
Speaker 4: Absolutely so.
Speaker 2: On Instagram we are Veganberg that's v e g A
Speaker 2: N d u RG dot Hsparia we are. Our website
Speaker 2: is Beigenberghysperia dot com. We're located off the fifteen Freeway
Speaker 2: going north towards Vegas off Main Street and SPAA.
Speaker 1: That's excellent. Thanks so much for taking the time to
Speaker 1: come on. I hope people check it out. I certainly will,
Speaker 1: and thanks to Andrew Caravella for the recommendation here on
Speaker 1: the show.
Speaker 5: D I'm stopping the.
Speaker 2: Lunch on Monday, so well, I'm there all day, so
Speaker 2: I hope to see I get to thank you personally.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Are you doing the cooking or I am
Speaker 2: I'm doing it all? I am doing it all. I
Speaker 2: do the Yeah.
Speaker 4: Yeah, we're there all.
Speaker 3: Day though Monday, so Will just comes in and eats
Speaker 3: and leaves.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Yeah, as you can see, d habit, I'm just like
Speaker 4: I said, I'm just a glorified dishwasher. We got it.
Speaker 4: She got the business, she's doing it. She's doing an
Speaker 4: amazing job at it. And uh, like I said, I'm
Speaker 4: just here to help her when she needs me.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Taste this.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Okay, he's a good dish washer.
Speaker 3: Hey, I'll tell you.
Speaker 1: That's the way I have to work every you know,
Speaker 1: on a family business.
Speaker 3: It's all hands on deck, period.
Speaker 2: I wish you both plate so much.
Speaker 1: D and Will Johnson vegan Berg Inhysperia, vegan Burg in Hesperia. Thanks, folks,
Speaker 1: we'll talk again.