July 31, 2024 • 12 mins
We spoke with Donovan and Isha Bell of Lion's Den Vegetarian Restaurant about what it's like to own a local business in Connecticut as well as the opening of their second location in Hartford.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Alison de Mers with iHeart Connecticut, Community Access
and Building Black Biz Connecticut. Today I'm speaking with Donovan
and Aischa Belle from Lions Done Vegetarian Restaurant in Hartford.
To hear more interviews with black business owners and decision
makers in Connecticut, visit Building blackbizct dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hi Allison, how are you?
Speaker 1 (00:22):
I'm great? How are you guys doing well? Tell me
what's that accent?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Where are Jamaicans?
Speaker 1 (00:28):
So you were born in Jamaica?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (00:31):
And when did you come to Connecticut?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Donovan immigrated here about nineteen ninety and myself I came
here around twenty fifteen.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
So you brought all those great recipes with you?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Yes, we did so Donovan when I met him running
Lions and Vegetarian restaurants. He's secretarian, but mostly we are
many or diet concepts of just vegetar and you know,
wheat protein. However, I grew up with a Rastafarian family.
(01:08):
Everyone my grand from my grandparents to my mom to
my dad, my brother, all of us were Raciferians. So
when I met him and the diet and what he
was offering, I literally told him that what he had
was gold because it's something that I was used to,
but I also knew the value of it, you know,
(01:30):
And of course he would put the Jamaican spin to it,
with the spices and everything. So the food is excellent
from that time and we built on it since that time.
So now it's it's it's it's awesome. We eat everything
that we lookare at the restaurant.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
How lucky are you to have a guy who cooks?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I know, right awesome?
Speaker 1 (01:52):
So Donovan, why did you decide to start Lions Done
vegetarian restaurant?
Speaker 3 (01:57):
So Lions then came as an opportunity. It was owned
by a restafrai and guy by the name of you Whittingham,
and he was migrating to Africa, and I used to
do shows and always put a big crowd. So he
(02:21):
saw me as someone who could carry on his legacy.
So he came to me and that was the perfect opportunity.
I didn't turn it down, I said, of course, you know,
so I bought it from him.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
In the Heights of Covid.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Yes, wow, of Covid.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yes that was a big step in faith.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Huh, yes, yes, But I always knew that eating right
has a lot to do with everyday life.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Did you learn that from your family? Where did you
learn that?
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Yes, Like I used to have told you that. You know,
I'm Jamaican, so we always try to do the right
thing and eat the right way.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
His mom was his mom was a nurse as well,
so she was in the healthcare field back home, and
she did that for many years. So he grew up understanding,
you know, what eating healthy, you know, entails, and what
it would and what he could possibly do. He's also
an avid soccer player and he's been doing that since
(03:29):
high school days, so he understands what is required and
and you know how to make sure that his body
that comes. Yes.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Yes, So you have a restaurant and now you just
opened another. Tell me about the first. Where is it located?
Speaker 2 (03:45):
So the first one is located at thirty three forty
seven Main Street. Opens six days a week from Monday
through Staturdays from eight am to atm We serve breakfast
and launch as well as dinner. There that's on the
north end of Hartford. It's a grab and go and
it's it's all vegan vegetarians. So we have itel Stew,
(04:06):
which is one of our favorites. It's made with red
peas and coconut milk, and we have the dumplings and carrots,
Irish potato, ripe planting dice in there. We have onions, garlic,
you know, and of course eskellyan and thyme, all of
that's it's it's a whole. It's a hardy meal. I like,
(04:28):
I would put it one hot meal, but you know,
so and it's it's very delicious. We also have vegan
drumsticks that we we It's made from soybean byproducts and
we we we French fry those for those individuals who
may want to mimic a chicken leg if you want
(04:48):
to call it that, but it's really delicious. You know.
We have seamuss fruit smoothies that are also available. Lots
of people, you know, have been recent times become more
curious about what that is. Sea mass is a plant
is found in the ocean. It has about ninety two
minerals that your body needs, so it's a super food
(05:09):
and we put that in our porridge. We put that
in all our smoothies. So when you come there, even
if you don't take a meal and just take a smoothie,
you're getting you're getting maximum benefits from whatever it is.
That you get from lines, then I.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Want to know about that rasta pasta.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
So the rasta pasta we do use the multicolored pasta.
We and most of our our ingredients or recipes, we
do have coconut milk in there as well, so that
kind of gives it the flavor. Flavor. Jamaicans, we cocate
a lot of coconut milk, so we put that in there.
(05:51):
We put our coloring and our spices and yeah, and
I cannot leave out our shell Sir Hugh. He has
a myriad of experience just you know, looking about or
preparing meals that are Jamaican or even the European Asian
(06:15):
cuisine itself. He works with the ship and industry for
over thirty years. So the chef that we have has
that amount of experience working as a supervis as a
head chef. So we produce nothing but the finest and
he's on board. He's in his element. He whistles when
he cooks. Yes, so the food is actually is really superb,
(06:42):
and we do our best to make sure that it's
consistent every day all day.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
It's like you're putting your love into the food.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Yes, we eat there every single day.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Why wouldn't you. It's delicious and healthy. Yes, yes, So
where's the second location.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
The second location is at two fifty Main Street, Downtown Hartford.
Now this restaurant actually has a bit of a twist
to it because it's prescatarian, so we do serve seafood
as well, but we have all the offerings of the
vegan vegetarian restaurant that's on North main Street. You get
(07:20):
everything that is offered at thirty three forty seven Main Street,
and then so the downtown location at two fifty Main Street,
right at the corner of Charter Oaken Main Street. We
open from Wednesdays through Sundays from twelve noon, so we
don't do breakfast there, but we go on till later.
We do have a twenty one hundred square food patio
outside that is available for dining as well, and of
(07:42):
course we have a full bar as well, so if
you're coming from work and you're feeling stressed, you can
hop on down on top of that Downtown Hartford. We
do rent it out, so if you do have like
a weddings or birthday parties or anything like that, feel
freet for contactles A six six eight two eight zero
zero nine or eight six two four one zero two
(08:05):
two zero.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
And you also have food trucks.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Yes, we're quite busy, so we have two food trailers.
We do specialize in vegan paddies that we we have
a paddy wagon that we we we use to uh
sell these from time to time at various events. We
do have the patties available at both restaurant locations as well.
So we have curry, chickpeace patty, we have lentil patty,
(08:32):
we have spinach, we have vegetables, we have pumpkin paddies,
you know, we have so we have drug plant and
patty as well. So yeah, we have we have a
wide variety actually that we offer. So and then we
have a full full full service food truck like it.
(08:55):
It's a twenty twenty by eighteen food truck. Yes, yes,
so you can find those throats Connecticut. We've gone as
far as Rhode Island at their Ridgefest there. We've gone
to Massachusetts, We've we've gone to New York and of
course all over Connecticut.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Tell me about the things you make for breakfast.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
For breakfast, we have aqi, which is Jamaica's national fruit.
It kind of looks like stamble eggs, but it's a
fruit and we we do run dong as well. Run
doung is a Jamaican meal or it's made with coconut
milk and then we put like onions and you just
(09:39):
put light vegetables in there. Again, the coconut milk has
a as a distinct slavel, so that alone where the vegetables,
you're able to eat it as as a meat substitute.
We have our porridge which varies from plant into banana
to peanut, and all of our porridges are mixed with
(10:00):
odds and seamus. We have boil food in there. We
have klalu, we have packed Troy goes on, we have
fried dumplings.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
I only know one word, Irene Man.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Irene, Irene Man. Yes, definitely.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
I love, love, love Jamaica. I love the people of Jamaica.
And every time I've gone to Jamaica, something amazing happened
to me. Seriously, every single time, something like divine, something
in nature or whatever you want to believe, it's just beautiful. Well,
you're so blessed because you're a family owned business and
you're local. How important is it for the public to
(10:42):
support locally owned businesses today.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Well, it's important because you find that there's a thin
line between just a mom and pops and kind of
elevating from that moment pops kind of kind of situation
too where you consider yourself of a small business or
you know. And of course we find that in transitioning,
(11:07):
it's it takes more, definitely in terms of taxes and
and and fees and everything else. But it's important because
we support our local local farmers as well. Everything that
we I told you that we use in terms of
the pack chord, the kaalau, those vegetables that we can
(11:28):
get from local farmers. We do have a lot of
those coming in from farmers that are in and around Harford.
So as much as possible, they look tow us for support,
We look at them for support. And you know, it's
as we would say in Jamaica, one and one hand
washes the other. So that's something that we do. And
of course you know, it goes around, and it's the
(11:49):
funds are circulated and and and you know everyone wins.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
That's right. I'm speaking with Donovan and Aisha Belle, the
owners of lions Den Vegetarian Restaurants. There are two locations
in Hartford. Definitely get out there. Try the Rasta pasta,
the Vegan drumsticks, the Etel stew, the curate chickpeas. It's amazing.
What is your website so people can go look?
Speaker 2 (12:13):
So it's Lions and Vegetarian dot com.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Excellent. Oh my gosh, I cannot wait. I'm so hungry
right now. I can't wait to try everything and I
just want to meet the.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Two of you. Definitely stop by. Would love to have
you in any one of the locations, and definitely it
would be a treat for us.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
I wish you nothing but the best and great success.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Thank you so much, Thank you so much, And it
was a pleasure for you having us, you know, on
your program today. It's awesome. You know, we always will
appreciate it.
This is Alison de Mers with iHeart Connecticut, Community Access
and Building Black Biz Connecticut. Today I'm speaking with Donovan
and Aischa Belle from Lions Done Vegetarian Restaurant in Hartford.
To hear more interviews with black business owners and decision
makers in Connecticut, visit Building blackbizct dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hi Allison, how are you?
Speaker 1 (00:22):
I'm great? How are you guys doing well? Tell me
what's that accent?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Where are Jamaicans?
Speaker 1 (00:28):
So you were born in Jamaica?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (00:31):
And when did you come to Connecticut?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Donovan immigrated here about nineteen ninety and myself I came
here around twenty fifteen.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
So you brought all those great recipes with you?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Yes, we did so Donovan when I met him running
Lions and Vegetarian restaurants. He's secretarian, but mostly we are
many or diet concepts of just vegetar and you know,
wheat protein. However, I grew up with a Rastafarian family.
(01:08):
Everyone my grand from my grandparents to my mom to
my dad, my brother, all of us were Raciferians. So
when I met him and the diet and what he
was offering, I literally told him that what he had
was gold because it's something that I was used to,
but I also knew the value of it, you know,
(01:30):
And of course he would put the Jamaican spin to it,
with the spices and everything. So the food is excellent
from that time and we built on it since that time.
So now it's it's it's it's awesome. We eat everything
that we lookare at the restaurant.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
How lucky are you to have a guy who cooks?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I know, right awesome?
Speaker 1 (01:52):
So Donovan, why did you decide to start Lions Done
vegetarian restaurant?
Speaker 3 (01:57):
So Lions then came as an opportunity. It was owned
by a restafrai and guy by the name of you Whittingham,
and he was migrating to Africa, and I used to
do shows and always put a big crowd. So he
(02:21):
saw me as someone who could carry on his legacy.
So he came to me and that was the perfect opportunity.
I didn't turn it down, I said, of course, you know,
so I bought it from him.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
In the Heights of Covid.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Yes, wow, of Covid.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yes that was a big step in faith.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Huh, yes, yes, But I always knew that eating right
has a lot to do with everyday life.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Did you learn that from your family? Where did you
learn that?
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Yes, Like I used to have told you that. You know,
I'm Jamaican, so we always try to do the right
thing and eat the right way.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
His mom was his mom was a nurse as well,
so she was in the healthcare field back home, and
she did that for many years. So he grew up understanding,
you know, what eating healthy, you know, entails, and what
it would and what he could possibly do. He's also
an avid soccer player and he's been doing that since
(03:29):
high school days, so he understands what is required and
and you know how to make sure that his body
that comes. Yes.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Yes, So you have a restaurant and now you just
opened another. Tell me about the first. Where is it located?
Speaker 2 (03:45):
So the first one is located at thirty three forty
seven Main Street. Opens six days a week from Monday
through Staturdays from eight am to atm We serve breakfast
and launch as well as dinner. There that's on the
north end of Hartford. It's a grab and go and
it's it's all vegan vegetarians. So we have itel Stew,
(04:06):
which is one of our favorites. It's made with red
peas and coconut milk, and we have the dumplings and carrots,
Irish potato, ripe planting dice in there. We have onions, garlic,
you know, and of course eskellyan and thyme, all of
that's it's it's a whole. It's a hardy meal. I like,
(04:28):
I would put it one hot meal, but you know,
so and it's it's very delicious. We also have vegan
drumsticks that we we It's made from soybean byproducts and
we we we French fry those for those individuals who
may want to mimic a chicken leg if you want
(04:48):
to call it that, but it's really delicious. You know.
We have seamuss fruit smoothies that are also available. Lots
of people, you know, have been recent times become more
curious about what that is. Sea mass is a plant
is found in the ocean. It has about ninety two
minerals that your body needs, so it's a super food
(05:09):
and we put that in our porridge. We put that
in all our smoothies. So when you come there, even
if you don't take a meal and just take a smoothie,
you're getting you're getting maximum benefits from whatever it is.
That you get from lines, then I.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Want to know about that rasta pasta.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
So the rasta pasta we do use the multicolored pasta.
We and most of our our ingredients or recipes, we
do have coconut milk in there as well, so that
kind of gives it the flavor. Flavor. Jamaicans, we cocate
a lot of coconut milk, so we put that in there.
(05:51):
We put our coloring and our spices and yeah, and
I cannot leave out our shell Sir Hugh. He has
a myriad of experience just you know, looking about or
preparing meals that are Jamaican or even the European Asian
(06:15):
cuisine itself. He works with the ship and industry for
over thirty years. So the chef that we have has
that amount of experience working as a supervis as a
head chef. So we produce nothing but the finest and
he's on board. He's in his element. He whistles when
he cooks. Yes, so the food is actually is really superb,
(06:42):
and we do our best to make sure that it's
consistent every day all day.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
It's like you're putting your love into the food.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Yes, we eat there every single day.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Why wouldn't you. It's delicious and healthy. Yes, yes, So
where's the second location.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
The second location is at two fifty Main Street, Downtown Hartford.
Now this restaurant actually has a bit of a twist
to it because it's prescatarian, so we do serve seafood
as well, but we have all the offerings of the
vegan vegetarian restaurant that's on North main Street. You get
(07:20):
everything that is offered at thirty three forty seven Main Street,
and then so the downtown location at two fifty Main Street,
right at the corner of Charter Oaken Main Street. We
open from Wednesdays through Sundays from twelve noon, so we
don't do breakfast there, but we go on till later.
We do have a twenty one hundred square food patio
outside that is available for dining as well, and of
(07:42):
course we have a full bar as well, so if
you're coming from work and you're feeling stressed, you can
hop on down on top of that Downtown Hartford. We
do rent it out, so if you do have like
a weddings or birthday parties or anything like that, feel
freet for contactles A six six eight two eight zero
zero nine or eight six two four one zero two
(08:05):
two zero.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
And you also have food trucks.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Yes, we're quite busy, so we have two food trailers.
We do specialize in vegan paddies that we we have
a paddy wagon that we we we use to uh
sell these from time to time at various events. We
do have the patties available at both restaurant locations as well.
So we have curry, chickpeace patty, we have lentil patty,
(08:32):
we have spinach, we have vegetables, we have pumpkin paddies,
you know, we have so we have drug plant and
patty as well. So yeah, we have we have a
wide variety actually that we offer. So and then we
have a full full full service food truck like it.
(08:55):
It's a twenty twenty by eighteen food truck. Yes, yes,
so you can find those throats Connecticut. We've gone as
far as Rhode Island at their Ridgefest there. We've gone
to Massachusetts, We've we've gone to New York and of
course all over Connecticut.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Tell me about the things you make for breakfast.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
For breakfast, we have aqi, which is Jamaica's national fruit.
It kind of looks like stamble eggs, but it's a
fruit and we we do run dong as well. Run
doung is a Jamaican meal or it's made with coconut
milk and then we put like onions and you just
(09:39):
put light vegetables in there. Again, the coconut milk has
a as a distinct slavel, so that alone where the vegetables,
you're able to eat it as as a meat substitute.
We have our porridge which varies from plant into banana
to peanut, and all of our porridges are mixed with
(10:00):
odds and seamus. We have boil food in there. We
have klalu, we have packed Troy goes on, we have
fried dumplings.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
I only know one word, Irene Man.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Irene, Irene Man. Yes, definitely.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
I love, love, love Jamaica. I love the people of Jamaica.
And every time I've gone to Jamaica, something amazing happened
to me. Seriously, every single time, something like divine, something
in nature or whatever you want to believe, it's just beautiful. Well,
you're so blessed because you're a family owned business and
you're local. How important is it for the public to
(10:42):
support locally owned businesses today.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Well, it's important because you find that there's a thin
line between just a mom and pops and kind of
elevating from that moment pops kind of kind of situation
too where you consider yourself of a small business or
you know. And of course we find that in transitioning,
(11:07):
it's it takes more, definitely in terms of taxes and
and and fees and everything else. But it's important because
we support our local local farmers as well. Everything that
we I told you that we use in terms of
the pack chord, the kaalau, those vegetables that we can
(11:28):
get from local farmers. We do have a lot of
those coming in from farmers that are in and around Harford.
So as much as possible, they look tow us for support,
We look at them for support. And you know, it's
as we would say in Jamaica, one and one hand
washes the other. So that's something that we do. And
of course you know, it goes around, and it's the
(11:49):
funds are circulated and and and you know everyone wins.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
That's right. I'm speaking with Donovan and Aisha Belle, the
owners of lions Den Vegetarian Restaurants. There are two locations
in Hartford. Definitely get out there. Try the Rasta pasta,
the Vegan drumsticks, the Etel stew, the curate chickpeas. It's amazing.
What is your website so people can go look?
Speaker 2 (12:13):
So it's Lions and Vegetarian dot com.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Excellent. Oh my gosh, I cannot wait. I'm so hungry
right now. I can't wait to try everything and I
just want to meet the.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Two of you. Definitely stop by. Would love to have
you in any one of the locations, and definitely it
would be a treat for us.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
I wish you nothing but the best and great success.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Thank you so much, Thank you so much, And it
was a pleasure for you having us, you know, on
your program today. It's awesome. You know, we always will
appreciate it.
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