Beloved Portland Cheese Cart Goes Vegan

Portland, OR food cart The Cheese Plate PDX is closing Sunday to restructure as a vegan brick-and-mortar with a new name of Of Roots and Blooms. After selling picnic-inspired fare for three years, owner Carina Rumrill says the shift is due in part to her desire to cater to customers who prefer vegan cheese plates to traditional dairy options. The cart will serve its last non-vegan items this weekend at the Alberta Food Cart Lot and will be sampling its vegan Cashew Fromage Fort. While the owners work to secure a physical location, Of Roots and Blooms will set up a stand at the Portland Vegan Beer & Food Festival on September 26, selling vegan mac-n-cheese with coconut bacon, a pickle plate with truffled cream cheese-stuffed olives, and beer-battered pickled beet chips. On Monday, VegNews reported that a former goat cheese producer has converted its farm to a sanctuary and now exclusively makes cashew cheese.