The vegan journey began for Chef Adyre in late 2014 when she realized her diet was negatively impacting her health. Under a doctor’s care she gradually transitioned to vegan by fall 2015. To ensure she would stick to her new lifestyle, she used her favorite cuisines and recipes from her mother to create flavorful, interesting plant-based food. 

Passionate about her new way of eating, Chef Adyre especially wanted to share it with her mother, Sarah, who suffered from a variety of chronic health issues. Unfortunately Sarah succumbed to these issues in 2017, a devastating loss for her only child. Chef Adyre realized the best way to honor her mother would be to take a chance at their shared dream of entering the food industry, helping others and their loved ones get more time together through better food choices. 

For the first three years The Veggie served as a meal prep delivery service and pop up. Chef Adyre’s prepared vegan meals were a hit across the Huntsville area, especially during the pandemic. Due to this growth, The Veggie opened its first restaurant space in 2021 at Lowe Mill Arts. The Veggie raked in a number of historic accolades as the only black owned business in the city’s history to win the Downtown Huntsville Project of the Year Award and the first vegan business to ever be named Culinary Business of the Year by the Huntsville-Madison Chamber of Commerce. 

In 2022 Chef Adyre put Huntsville vegan food on a national stage with her appearance on the first ever vegan episode of Beat Bobby Flay on Food Network. Chef Adyre has since earned many amazing awards and opportunities including being named Female Entrepreneur of the Year by the Catalyst Center for Business & Entrepreneurship, named one of the city’s top 40 entrepreneurs under 40, the recipient of the Andell Brown Pioneer Award, and representing Huntsville at the World Food Championships for its first ever plant-based category. Chef Adyre also received a proclamation from Mayor Tommy Battle for her impact on the city’s food scene. Since moving to its new location in Madison, Alabama The Veggie has also won the Madison Chamber of Commerce Best in Food, Beverage, and Hospitality Award. The Veggie has helped launch vegan food and its acceptance across the city with the garnering of both chambers culinary awards, showing that vegan food is more than a fad- it’s here to stay!