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Their Boots of Vegan Pleather
Surprise! Grit capital New York is becoming a global mecca for those who eat, and live, animal-free
madamedrummond@gmail.com
As Erin Wheatcroft, 28, sat in a Manhattan shoe shop, she couldn’t make up her mind. Dozens of shoeboxes cluttered the floor, as she agonized over the black open-toed pump on her left foot and the purple ballet flat on her right. “Forget it,” she said. “I’ll just get both.”
Such indulgence is rare for the dental hygienist from Saint Paul, Minnesota, who was in New York on vacation with her boyfriend, Adam Clark. But Wheatcroft was quick to defend her $227 footwear spree: “There’s nowhere to get cute vegan shoes in Saint Paul,” she says, as she handed over her credit card at MooShoes, a vegan shoe store on New York’s Lower East Side. “If I’m gonna come to New York, I’ve gotta do it right.”
Wheatcroft and Clark are both longtime vegans – people who eat neither meat nor dairy products, and avoid other products derived from animals. They are among the many who travel to enjoy New York’s array of animal-free food and retail shops, including restaurants, dozens of health-food stores, and boutiques offering leather and wool-free clothing.
MooShoes, which advertises “cruelty-free footwear, bags, T-shirts, wallets, books” opened in 2001 in a former butcher shop.
“We didn’t start the store to cater to tourists, but we certainly do now,” said Erica Kubersky, 29, a Queens native who opened the shop with her sister Sara. They own the only all-vegan shoe store in New York. Well over 50 percent of customers are tourists, Kubersky notes, who must navigate the army surplus stores and sidewalk sunglass vendors to find her.
MooShoes has expanded to offer other hard-to-find vegan items, including pleather—that’s fake leather —belts, purses, cookbooks and makeup. While Clark picked out gifts for friends back home, Wheatcroft stocked up on “a year’s worth of lip balm” made from hemp oil and free of the animal byproducts, like beeswax and stearic acid, found in most makeup.
Kubersky isn’t fazed by sprees like Wheatcroft’s, and says that purchases of 12 pairs of shoes isn’t unusual. MooShoes prides itself on carrying more than hemp sandals: the shelves display dozens of trendy, brightly colored heels, boots and sneakers.
One block east is Babycakes, a dainty pink bakeshop, where owner Erin McKenna satisfies other vegan cravings. McKenna, 32, started Babycakes in 2004, after she adopted a vegan diet and was hard-pressed to find dairy-free cupcakes in New York. Out-of-town customers, who account for a quarter of her business, go crazy for the shop’s cakes, cookies and brownies, she said, all dairy and preservative-free.
“People show up and freak out, they want to try everything when they’ve traveled really far to get here,” she said.
“Bulk buying - and eating - is something I see on a daily basis,” she said.
For tourists who can’t get enough of the bakery’s most popular items, like gluten-free red velvet cupcakes and chocolate chip cookie sandwiches, the shop offers overnight FedEx delivery to anywhere in the United States.
Kubersky and McKenna both credit the Internet with attracting shoppers. Popular vegan message forums and websites, such as SuperVegan, a blog dedicated to vegan living in New York, offer free, worldwide promotion.
“Websites and message forums for vegans definitely bring people in,” Kubersky says. “Word of mouth online is huge, and it’s made us a destination for visitors to the city.”
New York also boasts over 100 vegan and vegetarian restaurants. Rynn Berry, author of The Vegan Guide to New York City, has followed the growth of vegan tourism since his first edition was published in 1994. New York is an unparalleled destination for vegan travelers, he said.
“Even compared to metropolitan European cities like Paris or London, New York is unbeatable,” he said. “The sheer number of restaurants, and the different ethnicities and styles of cuisine, means that vegan diners are very well taken care of.”
The growth of Berry’s guide is a testament to New York’s expanding vegan market: What started as a 10-page pamphlet is now a 115-page guide to restaurants, retail outlets and health food stores. The 2007 edition sold 30,000 copies, many to travelers who bought the book online before visiting New York.
Berry says that the diversity of the city lends itself to vegan restaurants in myriad ethnic cuisines, from Indian and Thai to Japanese and Jamaican. He is often asked to suggest vegan walking tours.
“I’ve come up with Rastafarian tours, Chinese dining, vegan fast food, raw food, the list goes on,” he said. “Groups will walk from place to place, and there are an infinite number of different themes you could choose.”
For tourists like Wheatcroft and Clark on the vegan beat, one trip to New York may not be enough.
“There are, like, dozens and dozens of restaurants I want to try,” said Wheatcroft. “I narrowed it to 13 for this trip – but we’ll be back.”
BOX
Vegan Shopping in New York
MooShoes
78 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
Tel: 212-254-6512
Mon-Sat 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Sunday noon-6 p.m.
info@mooshoes.com
www.mooshoes.com
Babycakes
248 Broome Street
New York, NY 10002
Tel: 212-677-5047
Mon. 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Tues-Thurs 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri-Sat 10 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sun. 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
info@babycakes.com
www.babycakesnyc.com
Vegans from all over the country shop at MooShoes, the only vegan shoe store in New York City. Here, employee Stephanie Basila poses in front of a popular brand.
Photo by Katie Drummond
Erin McKenna started the dairy-free bakery Babycakes after she became a vegan and had a hard time finding non-dairy cupcakes in New York.
Photo by Katie Drummond
Babycakes, a dairy free bakery on New York’s Lower East Side.
Photo by Horacia Salinas