From left: Danny and Alex Carabano. (Photo: Sam Gillette).
The brothers opened the first V-Spot nine years ago in Park Slope because Danny couldn’t find restaurants that offered appetizing options for his vegan diet. As he experimented at home, he realized that it’s “not as difficult as it seems to veganize something.”
Opening a restaurant was a transition for the former math teacher at Brooklyn Tech High School, but who wouldn’t want to go from teaching hormonal teenagers the quadratic equation to veganizing mom’s favorite recipes? He eventually came up with a menu that extends beyond his Colombian background to encompass South and Central American cuisine.
Alex, a graphic designer, said they went kosher because they wanted to be inviting to their very mixed, cosmopolitan community. “Since we’re from Brooklyn, we grew up around a lot of Jewish people and have friends who are Jewish.” he said.
The menu for the new location is still in the works, but it should be similar to the original — though smaller, organic, and with only housemade desserts.
Frees samples at VSPOT.
Depending on whether the community board gives its blessing (VPSOT is also seeking a license to serve beer and wine), Alex would love to do a comedy show similar to the free one he hosts at the Brooklyn location every first Thursday of the month at 10 pm. Up-and-coming comedians as well as national headliners like Myq Kaplan have taken the stage there. As has Alex, who admits that some of his material makes fun of vegetarians and vegans (he’s the former, not the latter).
But both brothers are serious about their business — as are the backers who contributed $50,000 to their Kickstarter. When we asked them to pose for a photo, Danny crossed his arms over his chest to hide the Guinness logo on his T-shirt. It wasn’t V-Spot enough.
VSPOT is located at 12 St. Mark’s Place. Visit here for hours and contact information.
