Meet Monica Colgan, the owner of HeartBeet Organic Superfoods Cafe in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood. Monica’s cafe, which specializes in raw, plant-based foods, moved to Queen Anne in 2018 after a decade in the Roosevelt neighborhood. Visit HeartBeet to snack on everything from produce-packed smoothies to vegan tiramisu. Learn more in this week’s Business Spotlight: HeartBeet Organic Superfoods Cafe!
Bonus: HeartBeet also has a location in West Seattle.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What’s your favorite part about the community your business is in & why?
We love having a restaurant that operates [with a] deep consideration of the value of animals, the planet, and serving 100% plant-based food that makes people feel good. [It] is the best feeling in the world! We are a part of the West Seattle and Queen Anne communities, but also the vegan community and the small business community. Overall we love being of service, so whenever we get the chance to contribute we love to do so.
Why is it important to you and your business that people #SpendLikeItMatters?
Big business has largely taken over the world and if people want to continue to live in a world that has unique offerings in a non-corporate environment, it’s so important to #SpendLikeItMatters! Being able to spend and keep your money in the community contributes to the welfare of your community. When you spend at big corporations, the profits go to the top CEOs inside of a system that supports white men, reinforcing the patriarchy and systemic racism. When you spend [at] small, locally owned businesses operated by passionate people who care about their employees and customers, those folks reinvest in the community.
What’s something your customers may not know about you or your business?
My main long-term goal with HeartBeet is to become a franchise company that provides small business ownership opportunities, primarily to LGBTQ and BIPOC folx, where the model includes a stipulation that the franchisee company is at least 49% employee-owned. From all the research I have done, this would be a new concept in franchising and would be a true game changer!