Vegan Diner Feeds Downtown Healthy, Tasty Fare

A downtown Lansing vegan restaurant is the newest addition to the local cuisine scene, with chef Kari Magee creating flavorful dishes she said everyone will enjoy.

“Veg Head is a place where anyone can come in and find something they like,” Magee said. “Meat-eaters, flexitarians, vegetarians, vegans — it’s all-inclusive.”

Magee was an executive chef at Michigan State University — only one of two females to achieve that position — and became a vegan in 2019. She saw more students were interested in meatless dishes on campus and began creating new options.

“As I adapted that lifestyle, I began developing recipes for campus, and the need for plant-based options was growing and growing,” Magee explained.

Her plan to open a restaurant was germinated when she joined a local Facebook group, Vegan2Vegan, where she discussed the lack of substantial vegan offerings at many restaurants with some of the 800 members of the private group.

“They post about vegan options they find at different restaurants,” Magee said. “Part of seeing something you want to change means going and changing it. Be the change. Being trained as a chef and having different flavor profiles, I was able to take plants and incorporate them into some exciting dishes.”

Specialties include vegan tacos with a spicy red pepper sauce, Nashville tofu, and jalapeno popper macaroni and cheese.

“Everything on our menu has flavors,” she said.

Veg Head is at 208 S. Washington Square. The business is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.