“Burnt out” owner sells hugely popular Brisbane cafe

The owner of a beloved inner-city eatery has announced she’s sold the venue after struggling with burn out.

The arancini at Plant Vibes cafe in Bowen Hills.

One of Brisbane’s last remaining fully vegan eateries has been sold, with a new owner to take over the hugely popular Plant Vibes cafe in Bowen Hills.

The inner-city eatery with more than 12,000 followers on Instagram has been bought by hospitality veteran Grant Olsen, with founder Eugenie Hows saying goodbye after four years.

Ms Hows said selling was bittersweet as Plant Vibes was her first venture into hospitality and she had built it from the ground up, surviving the pandemic, numerous break-ins and the Brisbane floods.

Eugenie Hows has sold her popular vegan cafe Plant Vibes in Bowen Hills. Picture: Zak Simmonds

“I have been doing it for four years now and for hospitality that feels like 10 years,” she said, after starting the cafe as a passionate cook and vegan who couldn’t find suitable eateries to dine out at.

“The whole reason I started the business was because I had been eating plant-based for 10 years and I found there were a lack of options … so I wanted to provide something for those looking for a sustainable, ethical way of eating.

“I feel like I achieved what I originally set out to do and I felt like I didn’t have the passion to take it to that next level.”

Driving her decision to sell has been her new business Kyn, a vegan leather handbag brand she owns with one of her former Plant Vibes customers.

She has been running it and the cafe for more than a year, barely getting by on four hours sleep a night, working seven days a week.

The upstairs dining space at Plant Vibes Cafe in Bowen Hills.

“I feel the most burnt out I’ve ever felt in the last few months,” she said. “The last year, to be honest, I had a lot of mental lows from burn out and it definitely had an impact on relationships with my family and friends and my partner.”

Deciding she could no longer juggle both, she realised Kyn had stolen her heart and set about selling Plant Vibes.

“It was quite a long process – about eight months,” she said.

“It was really, really important [to find the right owner]. It had to be someone who had the desire to keep it plant-based because I’ve seen so many venues who have stopped that … And someone who would treat the staff right because there’s a lot of underpayment in hospitality and someone who was passionate to take it to the next level.”

Ms Hows believes she has found that with Mr Olsen, who plans to expand the cafe into night-time trading, introducing cocktails and a bar menu of an evening.

Until then, the cafe will remain business as usual, with the same team of staff and all recipes and menu items unchanged.