Michelle Rabena and Hayden Stanko are currently in the funding process for a new vegan grocery store in Pioneer Square. The couple have been vegan for over five years and have been “wanting to open up a mom & pop shop for a long time”. They expressed their vision for “veganism to be more accessible in the community with vegan food, resources, and events”. Michelle and Hayden want to create a space that is more than a grocery store, with community events, meet & greets, and more. 

They’re using a Kickstarter campaign to help with some of the initial expenses (they’ve also invested their own funds) to help accelerate the opening of the shop. With the only other vegan grocery in Seattle still temporarily closed due to Covid-19, they decided to change the timeline on their business plan, and chose the crowdfunding approach. It’s an all-or-nothing campaign and at the time of publishing, the campaign is currently at 38% with 18 days to go.

Prior to this new venture, Michelle was streaming video games and live vlogging events and restaurants on Twitch. Hayden was and is in a company that makes it easily accessible for anyone to further their clouds skills, prepare for certificates, and ultimately further their career. Their collective strengths are in programming, marketing, and management. Both grew up in Auburn, Washington.

Read more and/or back their Kickstarter here.