Nick Cannon is the Latest Celeb to Open a Vegan Restaurant, VTree for Soul Food

There is one particular group of people helping to catapult plant-based brands onto the scene: Celebrities. First, music star Moby opened his vegan Little Pine in LA. Then Jay-Z funded plant-based Partake Foods and its cookie line. And Leonardo DiCaprio was an early backer of Beyond Meat. There seems to be no slow down of celebs investing in—and partnering with—plant-based companies.

The latest celebrity-backed vegan endeavor is VTree Hollywood, a soul food restaurant brought to you by Nick Cannon. Located inside Yamashiro, a more than 100-year old Japanese restaurant, Cannon, a rapper, actor and TV host, collabbed with Chef Velvet who heads vegan restaurant VelTree in Charlotte, NC. VTree takes inspiration—and many of the tried and true recipes—from the Charlotte hotspot where Cannon himself was known to frequent and rave about.

While there is no shortage of plant-based hotspots in the LA area, an elevated dining experience that serves up soulful plant-based cuisine with a southern twist is novel. On the menu you’ll find items like Cajun Shrimp, Black Eyed Peas, Chic’n & Waffles to name a few of the mouth-watering dishes. Even vegan influencer and TikTok star Tabitha Brown is obsessed. She appeared on the VTree Instagram geeking out of some of VTree’s dishes.

There are many outspoken celebrities that make it known they are on the veg food train, however, Cannon’s plant-forward passion might come as a surprise. After years of battling Lupus, Cannon eliminated meats like pork and chicken, as well as many processed foods from his diet. No matter the reason for high-powered people jumping into space, one thing is for sure: the clout and investment that celebrities like Cannon bring has been instrumental in shifting society to a more healthful, ethical and environmentally-sustainable world.

VTree launched Thursday, April 30, and is currently open for takeout and delivery (due to the pandemic). They do plan to open for dine-in service once the restaurants are allowed to host guests.

Seven-time Grammy Award winner Carrie Underwood has been hailed for her “enormous” vocal range. When it comes to her diet, Underwood’s a fan of breakfast burritos and lots of tofu. She doesn’t shy away from the carbs, either. According to Cheat Sheet, one of her favorite snacks is a toasted English muffin with peanut butter.

Singer, songwriter, and “The Voice” coach, Blake Shelton, 43, has been working to stay fit recently with help from his long-time love, Gwen Stefani, who is a vegetarian and told him to get off the meat if he wants to feel fitter and lose some weight. Shelton has been trying to keep up with Stefani's impressive fitness level, according to an interview Stefani gave this fall. The former No Doubt singer and Hollaback girl is a longtime vegetarian, eats a mostly vegan diet, and is super fit-- and at 50, looks younger than her years. A source told Gossipcop, “Gwen’s told him the way to lose it is to stay the hell away from meat and bad carbs.” We're rooting for him!

The best-selling female country music singer in history isn’t buying any expensive steak dinners after a performance. The “Queen of Country Pop” has sold more than 100 million records but says she keeps her meat-free diet simple. She is both vegetarian and eats very little dairy -- though at times has said she does eat eggs.

Americana singer and songwriter Annette Conlon is also a passionate vegan. She started “The Compassionette Tour,” in an effort to bring compassion, social consciousness, human interaction, and animal issues to a mainstream audience.

The Man in Black is synonymous with country music, even nearly two decades after his death (1932-2003), probably in part because of the biopic about his life starring vegan actor Joaquin Phoenix. Ask any die-hard country music fan (or your dad, for that matter) and they will tell you that Johnny Cash was one of the best-selling musicians of all-time. His scores of hits include “I Walk the Line” and "Hurt" "A Boy Named Sue" and dozens of others. Cash himself was believed to have lived meat-free later in life to help combat some health issues. At Johnny Cash’s Kitchen and Saloon in Nashville, you can also load up on the meat-free dishes as the restaurant boasts a fully stacked veggie menu that includes greens, sweet potato mash, and fried okra.