Next Stop Vegan Brings Plant-Based Dishes With a Dominican Twist to Greenpoint This Summer

Next Stop Vegan (685 Manhattan Ave.) is opening a Greenpoint location in the former home of Mama Pho. Owners Blenlly Mena and Javier Saba are aiming to open their newest restaurant by mid-July. They currently run another location of Next Stop Vegan in Brooklyn Heights. 

“We actually always dreamt of opening in Greenpoint before opening anywhere else because Greenpoint offers the diversity, the energy and the vibe we always seek that matches our food and our dynamic,” Mena told Greenpointers.

Mena, the brains behind Next Stop Vegan, is a Bronx native with Dominican roots who eats a completely plant-based diet. Next Stop Vegan’s story began when Mena was living in South Korea teaching English classes. While there, she wanted to introduce plant-based options to her Korean friends, which led her down a path that would eventually be Next Stop Vegan.

When Mena returned to New York from South Korea, she joined forces with her mother and sister to create the first plant-based meal prep in the city. After a successful year, the trio opened their first storefront, becoming the owners of the first 100% plant-based restaurant in New York with a Latin twist. “That recognition alone allowed for our business to flourish within the vegan community and beyond,” Mena told Greenpointers.

Five years later, Mena met Saba and the pair became business partners. Mena said this allowed her to “expand the wings of Next Stop Vegan into the arms of Brooklyn” for which she is “grateful.” 

Next Stop Vegan serves food that is entirely plant-based with nods to Mena’s Dominican roots and other Latin flavors. The menu includes burritos, empanadas, salads, sandwiches, loaded fries, plantains, and variations of rice and beans.

The Chimi is a vegan take on a popular Dominican sandwich recreated with homemade black beans and brown rice patties. Plus, there’s a vegan Philly cheesesteak. “Our menu is so versatile that it caters and favors everyone,” Mena said.

Mena told Greenpointers that every item on her menu is popular but, if she had to share the top three dishes, they would be the sweet and spicy oyster mushroom burger, the twisted burrito and the Clasico, which is a plate of white rice, beans, and portobello mushroom steak, with an avocado and sweet plantain salad.

The Greenpoint location of Next Stop Vegan will have a large backyard, offering shaded outdoor dining, perfect for a summer opening.