Avid participants and sellers at the downtown Phoenix Public Market, Keith and Ryan WHyld of WHyld Thought Creations are going to open Kick Ass Coffee and Eatery, a vegan bakery and juice bar, in Bisbee, Ariz. on “World Vegan Day,” Nov. 1.
The couple became vegan when they moved to Phoenix from North Carolina for school, Keith WHyld said. Because of their desire to eat vegan, they began to create vegan baked goods. Last June they began selling their vegan baked goods at the Phoenix Public Market.
They experimented and used science to break down the food, Keith WHyld said.
“If you take baking soda and water and mix it together at the right proportions, boom! It’s an egg,” WHyld said.
Although they will no longer be selling at the Phoenix Public Market, Ryan WHyld said they have had a couple of proposals for people wanting to sell the products in the market.
The eatery in Bisbee will have small entrees as well as baked goods, juices and holistic nutrition, Keith WHyld said.
“We will have a full line of supplements,” Ryan WHyld said. “We are a holistic center.”
The menu will contain “pop-ups” of information to show why certain ingredients are used and how they can benefit your body, Keith WHyld said. Kick Ass Coffee and Eatery is not just an eatery, both Keith and Ryan WHyld said.
“It’s an organic plant-based culture experience,” Ryan WHyld said. “(It’s) not just product, it is our culture, our life.”
The couple’s goal is to get people eating again, Ryan WHyld said.
“If I can get people to eat a well-balanced meal that is amazing, then I am happy,” Ryan WHyld said.
The restaurant is opening in spite of a failed Kickstarter fundraiser that ended on Oct. 23. WHyld Thought Creations raised just 10 percent of their goal during the month-long crowdfunding attempt, according to the KickAss KickStart’s fundraising page.
WHyld Thought Creations will be opening up an organic, plant-based bed and breakfast adjacent to Kick Ass Coffee and Eatery in 2014, Ryan WHyld said. Also in 2014, WHyld Thought Creations will break ground to farm the majority of their own vegetables and fruits for Kick Ass Coffee and Eatery.
It is a possibility that they will be opening an eatery in downtown Phoenix in the future, Ryan WHyld said.
Keith WHyld said that their relationship with downtown Phoenix is amazing and that the community gets better every day.
“It has been very rewarding,” Ryan Whyld said. “We have touched many people. We enjoy downtown Phoenix, especially when the students are back.”
Throughout their process, a local Phoenix vegan diner, Braggs Factory Diner, has supported WHyld Thought Creations.
Braggs Factory Diner owner Emily Spetrino-Murtagh said the relationship between WHyld Thought Creations and Braggs Factory Diner began when the WHylds came in to the diner as customers.
Both owners got to know each other and soon WHyld Thought Creations asked to have a “kitchen share” with Braggs Factory Diner. WHyld Thought Creations was baking so much for the market that they needed the extra space, Spetrino-Murtagh said.
Braggs Factory Diner also helped the WHylds with fundraisers to gain extra funding for the eatery, Spetrino-Murtagh said.
“Oh gosh! I think it’s awesome (that Kick Ass Coffee and Eatery) is opening!” Spetrino-Murtagh said.
Spetrino-Murtagh said she believes that the owners of WHyld Thought Creations have such amazing, fun personalities and that they draw people in and make them feel welcomed.
“Whatever they were doing — even if not in Bisbee — they would be amazing at it,” Spetrino-Murtagh said.
Kick Ass Coffee and Eatery will be located on 54 Brewery Ave. Bisbee, Ariz., 85603.
Contact reporter at msabramo@asu.edu
