When Sheena Drost’s sweet tooth kicks in, the Gainesville resident often dreads the lackluster taste of typical healthier treats found at most supermarkets and restaurants.
“Finding gluten free goodies is hard,” Drost said.
For shoppers with dietary restrictions and ethical limitations, avoiding things like sugar, gluten and animal testing can be challenging. Sometimes even vegan options can leave a Valentine’s heart aching for more.
Drost, 41, is gluten intolerant and has turned to local businesses to fulfill her cravings. She enjoys shopping at Baked Vegan, an independent vegan and nut-free business.
Drost said she enjoys the business’ gluten-free and vegan cheesecakes.
Brie-Anne Ezratty, 31, is the owner of Baked Vegan. She made the choice to turn vegan eight years ago but became increasingly frustrated with the lack of variety grocery stores and restaurants offered.
“That was back when the vegan options were French fries and a side salad,” she said.
Once her frustrations surpassed their limits, Ezratty began dedicating her time to cooking, but she had yet to master the art of satisfying a sweet tooth, she said.
Ezratty’s said one of her inspirations for starting her vegan dessert business was Whole Foods Market. Even so, the grocery chain, known for its healthier alternatives, did not meet Ezratty’s sweets standards.
Another inspiration was Waka Flocka, the American rapper who used to be vegan.
“I stumbled upon a Waka Flocka video of him making vegan blueberry muffins, and I really loved the whole experience from start to finish,” she said.
Another customer of Baked Vegan, Danielle Marsh, has been vegan for about 20 years and said she feels Gainesville’s local options hit the spot.
Marsh, 43, said besides being vegan, she prefers to shop at local vendors for product quality, not quantity.
“I think it’s really important to support people doing things they love and people who have a strong desire to support the community,” she said.
Marsh said she especially believes in turning to local vendors during holiday seasons. She only used small businesses for her wedding.
Natalya Owens, 34, said she is careful about where she stops to avoid supporting the mistreatment of animals.
Owens said she’s trying to pass this value onto her family and often takes her daughter, Audrey, to the Sunday Farmers Market at Critter Creek Sanctuary to visit the farm animals.
“Just because they're not humans does not mean they are not worthy of the bare minimum of humanity and consideration,” she said.
Other business owners are eager to give their customers valuable products, but toggle back and forth with a dilemma of high pricing
Peyton Agliata, 25, is the owner of Bushel and Peck, an all-inclusive micro bakery known locally for its floral cakes and soft pretzels.
“I love being able to offer my goods to people that may have gluten free allergies or dairy free,” she said.
Agliata hosted her first Valentine’s pre order cake sale this year, and she featured seasonal items like a vegan passion mango matcha cake and a gluten free blackberry lemon velvet cake.
She said she’s looking to give her customers the best products, but high pricing is an unavoidable challenge. She needs to charge costly amounts for her products to make up for her profits.
“Ingredients are getting a lot more expensive,” she said. “It makes it difficult to squeeze those pennies and chase the dream.”
Agliata said she uses King Arthur All-Purpose Flour to bake her items because she likes the quality. The product is priced at $6.95 for 5 lbs. A cheaper alternative, like Great Value, prices the same unit of all-purpose flour at $2.43, but the quality levels could vary, she said.
Brett Caudill, 34, is a loyal customer to Gainesville vendors, and said he believes in the last 10 years, there’s been a stronger effort from bigger chains to be more inclusive, but the quality from locals cannot be matched.
Caudill used to be vegan, and said he appreciates the artistry behind vegan products as well as still indulging in them.
“It’s tough to match the artisanal quality of the small batch produced local products,” Caudill said.
An issue with consistently supporting local vendors can be the price tag, but during festive times, the heavier expenses are worth it, Caudill said.
“During the holiday seasons like this, people are already splurging,” he said. “You might as well splurge a little bit more and get something that is made by someone that you know in a loving way with ingredients that are good and wholesome.”