WHO WE ARE
Many of you know our history, and have been on this journey with us for years. Some of you are new to the family, and as we grow we would like to welcome you and share a little more about The Plot. In the years since we founded, there have been some wild ups and downs. Every bump in the road has been the best possible teacher, and we will always be grateful for your support as we learn from our mistakes and do our very best to evolve the service we provide and the impact we create.
We’ve been at this for a while. We started our first restaurant together in 2013, and built a community from the ground up; a scrappy little team that cared so much about making good food and giving warm service. Davin traveled to the market almost daily to make sure we had the freshest ingredients, and at that time Cyclops Farms was right down the street, so we got the best, most delicious produce from a punk rock farmer who shares our values. Looking back it’s easy to romanticize this era; we pushed boundaries, thrived in gray areas, and we were outspoken about how we wanted to change the food industry. We volunteered for every community event we could, and donated all of the time and resources we had to support groups that were doing the work we believed in. And we began to realize along the way that this beautiful way of building community around business could be a path forward to a more sustainable future. Inspiring other businesses while empowering individuals to make healthier choices, both for themselves and for the communities they live in. And when things got hard, which they often did, we remembered that this was not just a career or a way of making money, but a form of activism. We had such a strong WHY that it was easier to roll with the punches, because we knew deep down that what we were doing was bigger than us, and had a higher purpose.
In 2017 the vision for The Plot was born. We were at a zero waste conference (CRRA) and asked the question, how can we build a business that checks all of the boxes, for sustainability, health, and environmental resilience? How can we do this respectfully, honoring the earth and those that share it with us? As an almost lifelong vegan I had some pretty strong views about how a plant based diet can help heal individuals and communities. Davin has always believed in putting more plants on more plates for all of these reasons. With the help of friends and family members who believe in us, we built the first Plot in Oceanside in 2020. With mentorship from Bianca Bonilla, an incredible local farmer and activist, we built the garden project alongside it. With the guidance of our friend and partner, Christopher Logan, we shaped a business model that serves our operations and our mission. And now, four years later, we have three plots and a thriving garden project that supplies much of the produce we serve to our guests. There have been some crazy ups and downs over the years, but our team is stronger than ever; an absolutely incredible group of humans that are as fired up as we are to drive this vision forward. To us, zero waste means respecting an entire journey from seed to harvest; the soil, the water, the labor and the incredible plant that results. Plant-based means creating food that is nourishing and also delicious, whether it is crafted for comfort or to push culinary boundaries. And being part of a community means doing everything we can to give back more than we take.
Thank you for being part of this journey. In the words of musician and visionary Joe Strummer, “The Future is Unwritten.” We’re excited for what’s in store for the plot and we can’t wait to continue along our path with this beautiful community.
So much love,
Davin & Jess