Founded in 2012, Cleveland Vegan began its operation as solely a catering company.
Laura Ross & Justin Gorski, founders of Cleveland Vegan never imagined their little catering company to grow into what is today. With over 30 staff and growing, what makes their food, service & experience exceptional is the incredible team behind it all.
Learn more about their culinary, operations and management team below:
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Laura Ross
OWNER
Laura Ross brings a diverse background to her work with Cleveland Vegan. She has been sharing the beautiful practice of yoga/meditation since 2005 and currently teaches at Inner Bliss Yoga Studio. Her work before taking over the management and operations of Cleveland Vegan was in the social work field where she coordinated the Volunteer program at a local domestic violence organization.
Outside of working closely with the management team at Cleveland Vegan, Laura is joyfully involved with Eli, Simone & Hugo, her 3 beautiful children. She loves to read, travel and eat vegan food. She meditates daily and attributes her spiritual practice and plant-based diet to the reason she is able to manage the demands of her schedule. She is a strong advocate for veganism and is thrilled to offer an accessible way of eating for so many.
Justin Gorski
OWNER
Justin has been cooking his whole life, although it took him about 35 years to get it right! 🙂
Besides cooking, cleaning, managing, leading the culinary catering team, picking up orders and washing random things at the shop, Justin hangs out with his amazing wife, Laura (bless her soul) and three crazy & amazing children…Eli, Simone & Hugo. Justin has been playing music almost as long as he has been cooking, he loves milkshakes, pizza and anybody that will cook food for him. He meditates every day, or at least tries to, and wants to continue to travel the world, record more albums, own an old 50’s pick-up truck! I guess we will see what happens…
Julian Coley
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Julian began his culinary career in 2009. After exploring different styles of cooking and working with numerous restaurants throughout Cleveland, he landed a position creating vegan food! Ultimately being able to please all sorts of people is the final goal and that’s made possible with Cleveland Vegan.
In his spare time, he loves getting together with his friends to watch sports, tossing darts or just listening to music with them.
Emily Double
EVENT & MARKETING COORDINATOR
Emily has a marketing degree and a love of vegan food which lead her to starting a plant based blog emilyhappyhealthy.com. After working for a food gift retailer in Chicago, Emily moved back home to Cleveland in the hopes of working for a vegan company. In her free time you can find Emily practicing photography, going for walks in the park and reading. She has 2 cats Sanderson & Kiwi.
Sadie Dohar
FRONT OF HOUSE SHIFT MANAGER
Sadie has grown up in the Cleveland Area her whole life and worked making vegan ice cream just before coming to Cleveland Vegan. Being able to offer cruelty free, sustainable dining in her hometown is very rewarding to Sadie.
When she is not at work, you can find her listening to records, painting, enjoying nature, or spending time with my dog Layla.
Brooke Pettry
FRONT OF HOUSE SHIFT MANAGER
Brooke was born and raised in NE Ohio. She went plant-based in 2018 shortly before she started practicing Bhakti Yoga. She and her partner left Ohio to travel the West Coast for a couple of years, and while she definitely learned plenty of life lessons and found joy in lots of different places, she’s more than happy to be back home doing something she loves and cares about. Sharing vegan food with people and helping them discover how truly delicious vegan meals can be is so rewarding. Brooke lived at a cow sanctuary during her travels, and cows are very special to her. In her free time you can find her crocheting or spending time with cows at the temple.
Carmela Ferry
FRONT OF HOUSE SHIFT MANAGER & ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Carmela started with Cleveland Vegan a few months after the doors opened. She loves seeing the continued growth of not only the restaurant, but also the bakery and the catering department through the years. Not only is she a FOH Shift Manager, but she also is an Administrative Assistant.
Carmela is passionate for all things Italian, especially food and culture as her parents were immigrants from Italy. She grew up in Wickliffe, but has called Lakewood her home for the past 26 years. She has been vegan since 2011 and loves hearing about everyone’s vegan journey. In her free time she enjoys knitting, the outdoors , traveling, reading, and spending time with her two sons, her husband, and dog.
Kaleb Kenel
FRONT OF HOUSE MANAGER
Originally from Akron, OH Kaleb has been Vegan since 2018, and has loved his experience working in plant-based restaurants. Outside of work, Kaleb loves reading, hiking, playing video games, and traveling. He’s even seen all four corners of the United States in one year! He hopes to travel the world throughout his life and dreams of one day finding the “One Piece”.
Michaela Fry
BAKERY MANAGER
Michaela was born and raised in Cleveland, ran away to California, and found her way back home to the Great Lakes. She has been specializing in vegan baking and cooking since 2012 along many adventures, both culinary and otherwise. There’s nothing she loves more than good food and loud music. Catch her playing in bands around town or in front of the oven at Cleveland Vegan.
Martin David Tapia
ASSISTANT KITCHEN MANAGER
Justin Stepp
FRONT OF HOUSE SHIFT SUPERVISOR
Justin was born and raised in the Cleveland area. He has a passion for veganism and the environment, graduating from Cleveland State University with a degree in environmental study. Working at Cleveland Vegan has allowed him the opportunity to deepen his passion for veganism through serving and being part of a plant based community. In his free time you can find him hanging with his wife, Julia, and two cats, Hazel and Lucy. His interest include bird watching, reading, cooking, and endurance cycling.