The owner of a vegan meal delivery service has plans to expand her business and open a vegan deli at 6108 W. Blue Mound Road in Wauwatosa, creating what she says will be the Milwaukee area's "first and only dedicated plant-based delicatessen."
Plant Joy Deli's owner, Amberlea Childs, says learning about food's effect on the body and changing her eating habits saved her life. As a breast cancer survivor, Childs "learned a lot about food, my body and survival," she wrote in her application for a conditional use permit from the city.
"Today, I use food as a first defense in preventing disease and maintaining optimal health," Childs wrote, and she wants to share that message of the benefits of plant-based foods by growing her business in Tosa.
Since 2019, with the help of eight part-time employees, she and her staff have used a shared commercial kitchen in Brown Deer to prepare the vegan meals that they deliver to customers across the region. They also sell their meals at various pop-up events.
With a new dedicated commercial kitchen at the Blue Mound Road location, Childs hopes to bolster "our plant-based food movement" with a vegan kitchen and marketplace selling a range of items six days a week. The business will feature fresh and frozen “heat and eat” meals, homemade vegan meats and cheeses, daily specials and catering.
The proposed store hours will be Tuesday to Sunday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Planned improvements to the facility include a mop sink, a three-compartment sink, electrical system upgrades and a four-table outdoor seating area on the back side of the property.
"This neighborhood deli and marketplace will energize and popularize plant based foods in the Wauwatosa and Bluemound Heights neighborhoods," Childs said.
The storefront was previously occupied by a soul food restaurant, Daddy's on Blue Mound.
A public hearing on the application for a conditional use permit was held at the July 22 Common Council meeting with no one speaking against it. The application now goes to the Plan Commission on Sept. 8 before final consideration and possible approval by the council on Sept. 30.
