![]() ![]() Sigmon, who grew up in rural North Carolina and got his start at his parents’ barbecue restaurant, isn’t new to veganism. Chef Sean Sigmon at Radici (Photo: Courtesy Radici) He opened Radici in January – a historically weak time of year for restaurants – and his commitment to local, seasonal ingredients limited chef Sean Sigmon to winter crops like beets and carrots on that opening menu. Ricciardi almost seems to like doing things the hard way. I constantly change the restaurants to match where I’m at in my life. “I don’t want the Beyond Burgers anymore. “At this point in my vegan journey, I’m done with the mock meats,” he says. He’s even steering away from some of the most conventional plant-based offerings. A massive, hand-painted sign in Radici’s entryway screams “VEGAN” in all caps. Ricciardi isn’t shy about what he’s doing. ![]() “If we were talking strictly from a business standpoint, I would be much better off if I were in Raleigh or Charlotte ,” he says, “but I live here, so it’s my community.” But while veganism isn’t as maligned here as it used to be, every local brick-and-mortar vegan venture has failed in recent years. Students at UNC-Greensboro have helped keep vegetarian restaurant Boba House in business across from campus for almost 20 years. It’s a bigger, less conservative, city and home to five colleges. And he started planning Radici, a sister restaurant in the heart of neighboring Greensboro. In early 2021, he closed Mozzarella Fellas and opened Dom’s, a vegan restaurant in downtown Winston-Salem. If that means doing what I believe in, that’s OK with me.” “A lot of what I do is not the best business decision, but I don’t care about that,” Ricciardi says. He didn’t have any investors, which made it harder to scrape by, but it also meant he didn’t have to answer to anyone. It sold modestly, but he added more options including a vegan pizza anyway. When he opened Mozzarella Fellas, Ricciardi included a barbecue jackfruit sandwich on the menu so he’d have something to eat while pulling shifts. That definitely drove me a little further into it and educating myself more on what being plant-based or being vegan means.” I think it was natural in me to be like, ‘OK, then I’m going to do it in spite of your comments. “I’ve always kind of been a little rebel. “I’m not a person who likes being told what to do,” he says. He figured he’d try it for a month, but when friends started ridiculing his decision, it hardened his resolve. Ricciardi had started eating vegan a year before opening Mozzarella Fellas while helping his aunt with her own vegan pop-up in New York. Complainers blew up the restaurant’s social media posts with critical comments, but Ricciardi took it in stride. They’d grown fond of dishes like the cheesesteak chips over the years, and after all, Ricciardi had named his restaurant after a cheese. Interior and food at Radici (Photo: Courtesy Radici) Vegetarians flock to Mexican restaurant La Botana for its extensive array of meatless options, but at the time, the move made Mozzarella Fellas the only explicitly vegan restaurant in town. That would be an ambitious pivot anywhere, but Winston-Salem - a small city in central North Carolina arguably most known for Winston, Salem, and Camel cigarettes - isn’t home to many plant-based restaurants. In June 2020, Ricciardi reworked every offering on his menu. “If I have to accept this as the new reality and possibly lose everything,” he remembers thinking, “then I’m going to go out on my own terms and do what I want to do.” But instead of shutting down, he made a bold move: he turned the entire menu at his pizza, sandwich, and pasta place vegan. ![]() “I was ready to just close the restaurant and be done with everything,” the New York native admits. Ricciardi - who operated his casual, sit-down Italian restaurant named Mozzarella Fellas on the outskirts of Winston-Salem, North Carolina - almost gave up. That’s become clearer in the past two years, as the pandemic hammered local restaurants. This isn’t a business you go into to make an abundance of money.” “This industry is so tough,” Ricciardi says. Brian Ricciardi, who spent 10 years in the industry before opening his first restaurant in 2016, knows this all too well. The margins are too small and the work too physically taxing. The restaurant industry is a bad place to try and get rich. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! ![]()
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