We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chef Stacey Dougan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Chef Stacey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Our goal is to provide more awareness about the health benefits of plant-based food and plant medicine to communities who are disproportionately affected by food deserts. We had a brick and mortar vegan restaurant for 7 1/2 years and during this time we offered complimentary plant-based cooking classes catered towards black and brown communities.

There is a community in Las Vegas called The Historic Westside which in the past was a thriving predominately African American community that played a pivotal role in the history of Las Vegas. Some 50 years later, this community has experienced economic and urban challenges including extremely limited access to healthy food.
In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, we rented a food truck for several months. During this time, we serviced the Historic Westside community with healthy plant based food and offered a buy one gift one program for healthy meals. We were well received. Now, 3 years later, we are looking to help restore the community by offering education on how to grow fresh food and how to prepare plant based meals. We are looking to help eradicate diseases that disproportionately affect African American and Hispanic communities like hypertension, diabetes and obesity.

Chef Stacey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have been a plant based chef for over two decades. Shortly after I graduated from Spelman College in Atlanta, I opened a raw vegan restaurant in Atlanta called “Everlasting Life”. I learned how to prepare food for health and was able to cure myself of a severe case of eczema. Prior to opening the restaurant, my career was in music and entertainment. I did artist development for Universal Music group and I had my mind set on being a music business mogul. I fell in love with preparing plant based food and saw the effect that consuming raw and vegan food had on the body.
During my years as a chef I’ve cooked for several dignitaries and celebrities including Bill and Hillary Clinton, Usher and Erykah Badu.
Simply Pure was a brick and mortar restaurant for 7 1/2 years and we are now Nevada’s first plant based food truck. We are 100% woman and minority owned. We provide healthy plant based meals with ingredients that are made from the earth. We use little to no processed ingredients in our dishes, this is one thing that sets us apart from other plant based establishments.

We are most proud of our ability to provide healthy plant based cuisine to the Las Vegas community. We are committed to educating people about the beauty, diversity and health benefits of vegan cuisine. We are also working in the cannabis space to bring awareness of the health benefits of the cannabis plant. We curate cannabis infused dining experiences and have created a line of healthy plant based edibles.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I started giving back to the Las Vegas community for years prior to opening a brick and mortar. I taught free cooking classes at Whole Foods Market for almost 2 years with the mission to educate about healthy plant based food. I was consistent with my classes and with the quality of my food. Consistency is key when building your brand and reputation.

When we had the brick and mortar I was consistent with my recipes. The food tasted the same whenever you came to Simply Pure. We also had friendly well trained staff. When I’m out in the public or when I am at my place of business, I am always smiling and have positive uplifting energy. I show my customers love all of the time and make them feel welcomed in my space.

So these are the things that helped build and maintain our reputation:
Always be friendly, nice and courteous
Consistency
Well trained and friendly team
Giving back to the community

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I have a couple of stories:

1. I opened my brick and mortar in December of 2013 and found out I was pregnant in March 2014. The father of my child told me he wanted nothing to do with me or my child. To this day he still has not seen my son, but lives here in Vegas and is branding himself as a vegan chef. So my first year of having my restaurant open I was a first time pregnant, single mom. That was an entire challenge within itself.

2. In February 2016 I was going to close my restaurant. I actually received an eviction notice from my landlord. This was an election year. Former President Bill Clinton visited my place and that changed the trajectory and momentum of my business. Prayer and a willingness to keep going no matter what happened, were the blessings that allowed me to stay open.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.simplypurelv.com
• Instagram: @simplypurelv
• Facebook: @Simplypurelv
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacey-dougan-19238745/

Image Credits
Brock Radke – Las Vegas Weekly Sonia Barcelona – Photos 4 The People Justice Fox – The Grand Life