Brave Louis Hunter Fights for Black Lives with First Black-owned Vegan Restaurant in Minneapolis

For years, Louis Hunter has been fighting for Black lives through plant-based food.

In 2016, Hunter’s cousin, Philando Castile, was killed by police during a traffic stop in Minnesota. Hunter was one of the thousands of protesters who took to the streets to demand justice. Hunter was falsely accused of throwing rocks at officers and fought to avoid the 20-year sentence that would have come with a conviction.

With the Support of the community, mobilized by Dan and Sarah Woodcock, the charges against Hunter were dropped.

In 2018, Hunter and the Woodcocks opened Trio, a social-justice restaurant that serves plant-based food, is operated mostly by people of color, and does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, or criminal history in hiring processes.

“We have never been shy about our anti-racist positions,” Hunter told VegNews. “The truth is that Black Lives Matter is part of our foundation.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Last but not least. . . Today marks the 1 year anniversary of Trio Plant-Based being black owned by Louis Hunter. 3 years ago Louis faced 20 years in prison for unjust charges. Miraculously after fighting the case for 2 years, by the grace of God the charges were dismissed. From that day he knew that God was in control of his destiny and within a year after his charges were dismissed, he opened up a 100% Plant-Based 🌱restaurant with two co-owners. We’ve been open since September 2018 , and have been doing amazing, with the love and support of the community. The restaurant was initially opened with three owners, But as of TODAY, Trio is 100% black owned by Louis Hunter. We would like to give thanks to God, the community, as well as family and friends. Without your support, he couldn’t have made it this far. Happy one year anniversary @louis_otf 🥳 We love you 🖤

A post shared by Trio Plant-based (@trioplantbased) on May 29, 2020 at 4:53pm PDT

In 2019, Hunter became the sole owner of Trio, making it the first Black-owned vegan restaurant in Minneapolis. The restaurant features delicious plant-based soul food classics including vegan mac and cheese, collard greens, and cornbread with maple butter.

After George Floyd was murdered in May 2020, Hunter supported the peaceful protestors who took to the streets of Minnesota, serving more than 300 vegan meals. He also shut down services to stand in solidarity with the protests and put a Floyd burger on his menu to help raise money for Floyd’s family.

“It felt amazing,” Hunter told TODAY in a recent interview. “It felt so unreal that Louis Hunter was able to serve the community 300 meals, which I could have been in prison praying for the community.”

As a small-business owner of color, Hunter has faced the harsh economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, Hunter is using his business as a way to mobilize, support, and give back to his community amid the fight for racial justice.

Watch TODAY Show’s interview with Hunter where he shares his favorite tips for cooking vegan food.

Source: TODAY/Youtube

Read about the fight for racial justice across the country and sign this petition to demand justice for Breonna Taylor!

Eating more plant-based foods is known to help with chronic inflammation, heart health, mental wellbeing, fitness goals, nutritional needs, allergies, gut health and more! Dairy consumption also has been linked to many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer, prostate cancer and has many side effects.

Interested in joining the dairy-free and meatless train? We highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App — with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest plant-based recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet.

• Weekly Vegan Meal Plans
• Plant-Based Health Resources
• Plant-Based Food & Recipes
• Plant-Based Nutrition Resources
• The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition
• Budget-Friendly Plant-Based Recipes
• High Protein Plant-Based Recipes
• Plant-Based Meal Prep

For more Animal, Earth, Life, Vegan Food, Health, and Recipe content published daily, subscribe to the One Green Planet Newsletter! Lastly, being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!