Acclaimed Chef to Open Vegan Convenience Store

Plant-based chef/restaurateur Matthew Kenney will open New Deli, a vegan convenience store, on April 15 in Venice, CA. The store will feature an array of vegan “sustainable, practical, everyday products” such as packaged snacks, lunch items prepared by sister café Make Out, vegan ice cream, chocolate, candy, companion-animal food, artisanal coffee, and an organic beer and wine program. Kenney aims to “revisit the concept of convenience store” with New Deli, which will be a contemporary space complete with patio seating designed by Venice-based DEX Studio. The store will also capitalize on its location—which Kenney said is “steps away from the beach”—by offering plant-based picnic baskets for guests to dine al fresco on the beach. Kenney currently operates a number of plant-based businesses worldwide, including PLANTLAB culinary school, a retreat in Thailand, and a number of restaurants such as Plant Food + Wine in Los Angeles, PLNTHOUSE in Miami, and Essence Cuisine in London. This week, Kenney will open Alibi at Ovolo Hotel in Sydney, Australia’s only plant-based restaurant housed within a hotel.