Mundo Vegan, Where Every Day is Meatless Monday

By Dianne Wenz

Mundo Vegan quietly opened its doors on Friday night, and word spread like wildfire! Montclair has long been in need of an all vegan restaurant, and the town has welcomed this one with open arms.

I maybe slightly biased towards Mundo Vegan because not only have I longed for a vegan restaurant in Montclair for years, but owners Tracey Phalon and Fanny Fuentes-Phalon happen to be friends of mine. 

The couple dreamed of opening their own restaurant for years, since their pre-vegan days. In fact, they met when they both worked together as waitresses at Red Lobster. 

About 5 years ago, Fanny picked up a brochure for Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary at the Clearwater Festival in Croton-on-Hudson, NY, and since they were both animal lovers, they decided to visit and volunteer with the animals. 

Their first task was cleaning the infirmary where two baby piglets were recuperating from surgery and later they went on to feed the chickens. After a spending a day with rescued farm animals at the sanctuary, they went to Garden Café in Woodstock for a meal, and they decided it was time for them to go vegan. 

When they tasted the café’s delicious food, they realized that their dream restaurant needed to be vegan so they could show the world how delicious animal-free food can be.