It’s been a good year for 23-year-old Francesca Chaney from East New York. Since she opened a permanent location in Bushwick for her former vegan pop-up Sol Sips last year, her business has quickly flourished. The small cafe of vegan plates is now becoming recognized for its clever use of plant-based ingredients and its message of affordable and inclusive veganism. That is, making sure that healthy eating is not exclusive to those who can afford a $10 cup of a Green Goddess smoothie.

“In many Black, Indigenous and Eastern communities it’s a tradition to meditate, grow your own food, create medicinal concoctions and facilitating healing rituals, yet many of the same communities have been ostracized for a very long time,” Chaney, whose mother is from Belize and taught her how to make the best out of locally-grown produce, told Essence in one of her first interviews.

Sol Sips has gained plenty of traction since its opening in 2018 with features in brand publications like Essence and Nylon. More impressively, the young entrepreneur was featured on Grist’s 50 top innovators in sustainability list. She was also named as one of Eater’s 2019 Young Guns, a yearly compilation of the brightest rising culinary stars hand-picked by editors and critics in the industry.