We were lucky to catch up with Joslin Mar-Dai recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Joslin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
Vegans on the Run is changing the face and taste of vegan food in the community. For so long, the idea and thought about veganism and a vegan diet was on that was not diverse at all. Many people that fit into my own demographic will shun vegan food with the notion that they will not get full, be satisfied, or even that it lacks flavor.
Knowing that authentic Louisiana comfort dishes can be transformed into delicious vegan meals is foreign to many people in our community, especially the urban community. However, we have worked hard since our humble beginnings to ensure that people that would not normally be interested in vegan food would understand that they can have so many of their favorite foods with a plant-based twist. This means that the elders and the youth can both possibly live longer by being introduced to a healthier diet without having to miss their traditional favorite dishes.
To date, we have had complimentary tastings, cooking classes, kid’s cooking classes and even planted gardens as a way to open the minds of more people that plant-based diets and vegan foods can be delicious.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Dr. Joslin Mar-Dai Pickens is a proud graduate of Grambling State University where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication with a concentration in Public Relations, and a Master of Arts in Mass Communication. She made history graduating in the first class of the Doctor of Education in Higher Education Leadership Studies program at Louisiana State University Shreveport.
Dr. Pickens currently serves as Chair of the Communication and General Studies Department and is a tenured Associate Professor of Communication and Mass Communication at Southern University at Shreveport. Dr. Pickens is the recipient of two national Excellence in Teaching Award for Colleges and Universities, and the Shreveport-Bossier Chamber of Commerce, Young Professional Initiative of Northwest Louisiana 40 Under 40 honoree, and a 2021 Minority Business Opportunity Award Business Owner of the Year honoree. Dr. Pickens received the prestigious 2022 ATHENA International Leadership Award. Most recently, she was awarded the 2023 Excellence in Hospitality Outstanding Culinary Professional Chef Award from the Shreveport-Bossier Tourism Bureau and the Shreveport Bossier Sports Commission.
She has served as the co-chair of professional development in the Young Professional Initiative Executive Committee, and currently serves on the 3L Foundation Board of Directors. Other partnerships include Project Celebration to bring domestic violence awareness and Dress for Success to bring “7 Keys to Success” for those with entrepreneurial dreams. Because of her heart for service, it is only natural that she is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She is the proud mother of Jalynn Mar’Dai, a senior at Grambling State University. Dr. Pickens is also a managing partner of Jalynn’s Locker and Jalynn’s Jeans for Teens, a local non-profit founded by her teenage daughter in 2017.
Some would wonder how she has time for anything else, but Pickens makes the time to commit herself to fulfilling her passion of improving the health of her community. Being in Shreveport, Louisiana with limited plant-based options forced Dr. Pickens to begin to create unique cultural favorites that she grew up eating, but 100% vegan. This led to Dr. Joslin teaming up with her teenage daughter to author their first vegan recipe e-book in October 2017, called “7 Days Vegan: Vegan Remixes for Everyday Eating”.
With her lifestyle gaining popularity with her family and friends, in late 2019, she and her family opened an all-vegan eatery. With a combined 20 years of the vegan lifestyle, this family stays on top of their game with innovative menu items. Vegans on the Run prides themselves in being both human and humane, which is evident in their most popular menu items. This North Louisiana vegan cuisine has gained popularity because of a menu that makes you never miss the traditional foods you grew up eating, coupled with exemplary customer service. The customer base varies from non-vegan, transitioning vegan, and vegan, because they all share one common quality and that’s valuing the great food!
Her restaurant was the 2021 Violife Plant Grant recipient, presented by RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. They were also voted the 2021-2022, Shreveport Bossier Locals Love Us Vegans Friendly restaurant award winner. To date her restaurant has provided over 1000 free hot and healthy vegan, organic meals to-go for lunch and dinner with priority given to underserved residents, seniors and disabled. She has also partnered with Caddo parish schools to provide children’s cooking classes. She has been the featured chef in eight national publications including Bon Appetit magazine and SB Magazine.
It is her hope to actively build a better tomorrow for her community by changing the face and taste of vegan food.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I would probably call myself the Queen of pivoting in personal, business, and career. One of our most proud pivots was beginning a food business 4 months before a worldwide pandemic. We had to quickly revisit our business plan and pivot. We began meal preparation service with the contactless doorstep delivery. That became our largest financial success of our business at the time. When we were allowed to open back up, but could not having inside seating, we pivoted again. This time, we began curbside service at our restaurant. This convenience is still one of our customers’ favorite benefits of our business. They can order online and just pull up and get their order delivered to them and they do not have to leave their cars. In addition, this pivot meant that we did not have to employ waitstaff or have extra expenses and repairs of having the dining room in constant use. People laugh when I tell them that we never intended on doing meal preparation or curbside, but have continued because those are two of our most supported services to date.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Being consistent and creative helped to build our reputation within our market. As a small, family owned and operated business, while still maintaining a full-time career, one of the most difficult tasks has been to build a consistent schedule and make sure that we are in place rain or shine. Customers know that they can expect a consistent schedule and consistent taste with the food every Taco Tuesday, Wing Wednesday, Meat-Free Friday, Soul Food Sunday and so on. They can rely on us to push the envelope with creative dishes and taste. This has helped us greatly in our market. When we hear that someone referred a customer to us and we meet or exceed their expectations, then we know that we are doing something right.
In addition, consistent creativity is a major key. We are not serving anything that other vegan restaurants serve, especially those in the local area. By having a menu that is a novelty, we build a reputation that we are very unique and thus people seek us out for that very reason. We have customers that travel from everywhere just to taste some of the dishes they have seen on social media. We are extremely proud of that. 
Contact Info:
- Website: www.TheVegansOnTheRun.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/vegans_on_the_run
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/vegansontherun
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joslin-pickens-ed-d-984aa9102/
- Twitter: @OnVegans
- Yelp: @Vegans On The Run
- Other: www.tiktok.com/@vegansontherun
Image Credits
Mari Jaxn Studios Vegans on the Run