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Goleta native Tyler Beerman is a vegan who loves Mexican food, and he combined them when he opened Vegan GreenGO.
The restaurant (pun intended on the name, he says) at 3613 State St. offers meat-free fare.
Beerman, 31, decided to take the lard and other animal products out of Mexican food, and offer an alternative product where chorizo is made out of soy, and cheese is made out of carrots, potatoes, herbs and spices.
Everything is made in-house from scratch at the restaurant, which opened in May, he said.
Beerman said he never enjoyed eating vegetables growing up and wasn’t open to eating vegan for most of his life, since the food didn’t taste good to him.
“The reason no one is vegan is because vegan food is not made sexy,” he said.
But things changed when he ate “one of the best burritos of my life” at an Eat Drink Vegan Festival in Pasadena.
“I felt like it would be good fit for Santa Barbara,” Beerman said of Vegan GreenGO.
“For people who don’t like vegan food, you’re are going to love vegan food,” he said. “I am bringing the vegan concept with a health concious approach, with tasty authentic Mexican food.”
The chicken and asada is made out of vital wheat gluten, the chorizo and al pastor are soy-based and the barbacoa is made from jackfruit.
Beerman also owns Conscious Kombucha, which is sold at some Whole Foods stores and local coffee shops.
RiseUp Fitness
Kyle Visin, Emily Foley, and Addie Clarke plan to open a new fitness studio, RiseUp Fitness, on July 23 at 2273 Las Positas Road.
RiseUp Fitness will offer group fitness classes with cardiovascular and strength training, combining the motivation of an active and vibrant community with the personal attention of an expert trainer, according to a news release.
The company is holding an online pre-sale for people to become founding members and get the “best possible” monthly unlimited rate.
Airbus Honored as Large Business of the Year
The Chamber of the Santa Barbara Region recognized Santa Barbara Airbus as the 2017 Large Business of the Year in a May ceremony, according to a news release.
“After being nominated for five years, it’s incredibly fulfilling to receive this award from business leaders here in Santa Barbara,” said Santa Barbara Airbus CEO Eric Onnen.
“On behalf of my entire staff at Santa Barbara Airbus, we really appreciate this recognition and are deeply committed to providing excellent service and customer satisfaction combined with our employee development and community social responsibility.”
Santa Barbara Airbus recently purchased a 55-passenger model luxury motor coach that reduces the company’s carbon footprint significantly, said co-owner Mark Klopstein.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
