The Best Vegan Restaurants For Busy People, According To Spoke & Weal's Founders

I recently visited the new, expanded Spoke & Weal salon on LA’s West 3rd Street. It reminded me why we are not planning any salon pages for our VitalGuide series. In the eight cities where Spoke & Weal operates, the list would have only one pick. After years of in-the-field research as a wellness reporter, trialing notable salons throughout the west coast, I’ve become a full-on Spoke & Weal devotee. In addition to offering a cutting-edge and client-first technique, a very cool company culture (perhaps a future blog post) and a low-key vibe, founders Jon Reyman and Christine Thompson are both totally plant-based. And since they’re jetsetting each week between their network of best-in-class salons, you bet they’ve become experts on the best spots to dine. So we asked them for their favorites:

Congrats on the new LA expansion of Spoke & Weal! What can you share about it?

JR: The L.A. expansion was dramatic. We doubled in size (from 2000 square feet to 4000 square feet) and renovated the entire space from the floors to the ceiling in about two weeks! The result is the best lighting we’ve ever experienced in a salon anywhere, an incredibly open and airy luxury experience, and acoustics that keep the salon relaxed and warm. Gone are any echos and much of the buzzing sounds of hair dryers.

What are your favorite spots to grab lunch when you're on your feet all day seeing clients at the LA location?

CT: You will find us in or ordering from these L.A. favorites: Kreation Organic, Erewhon, Gracias Madre, Sweet Greens, Cafe Gratitude. 

How do you survive fashion week/s with standard American style catering?

JR: New York Fashion Week is fairly vegan-friendly because the city is filled with veg options at every level of dining. Juice Press is a go-to all fashion week. The grab-and-go is filled with fresh and raw juices and vegan snack options that pack easily and fuel the team very well. We do not depend on catering—we are too busy back stage to find provisions!

Eating during the day is minimal but we do plan great dinners. I'm at ABCV every week and in-between take out from JaJaJa, Double Zero 00, or the fake tuna salad from Le Botaniste—and the vegan Caesar from Scarrs Pizza is insanely good.

How often are you on the road each month and where? Where are your favorite vegan restaurants in those cities?

JR: As we see guests and train our teams together in most cities, much of our meals are together on the road. In San Francisco, we love Burma Love—veggie soups and Laphet-Tea Leaf Salad are delish. Also, bon, nene, Gracias Madre, NoJo ramen (the vegan ramen should not be missed), Beloved and Al’s Place. In Chicago, you can often find us at Althea or Veggie Grill. Whole Foods recently opened one block away from our Lakeview salon, the smoothie bar and salad bar always work.

Further south, our Nashville Spoke & Weal is located right above True Foods Kitchen which delivers the goods every time! We are newer to Nashville so looking forward to exploring more. In Boston, Juice Press is around the corner and always hits the spot. Falafel Salad with Green Goddess dressing will fill you up for many hours.

In London, we like Yautacha for veggie dim sum and Detox Kitchen.

Any favorite airport restaurants or handy tips for plant-based road warriors?

CT: Traveling through many airports has become easier on the snacks end of things—meals are not on our agenda. If the flight justifies more than snacks we will do grab and go from Juice Press or many of the places above. Most often snacks suffice and below is our short list and most options are available at Cibo Express, Hudson News, or other airport snack and gift shops.

The GFB gluten free bites in the PBJ favor

Banana Bites - PB flavor

Chrunchsters - Sea Salt 

Smart Sweets - someone figured out how to make vegan gummies sweetened with stevia and monkfruit and they actually taste perfect! 

Louisville Vegan Jerky

Dried Mango (unsweetened)

Any other vegan and/or healthy travel trips you can share?

Travel tip: we each have a pair of bamboo utensils and water bottles. The utensils come in a narrow nylon pouch and include a spoon, straw, chopsticks, a fork and knife. We do our best to avoid using disposable goods. Traveling already takes a large amount of resources. The straws - metal or bamboo are great. Yes, a couple extra steps in rinsing and washing but this easily becomes routine. Single use plastic is insane—and very difficult to avoid. Bamboo utensils and reusable straws is a no brainer.

Our Favorite LA Salon Is Coming To A City Near You

Spoke & Weal salon's cult following and swift expansion across the country testify to the effectiveness of of co-founder Jon Reyman's dry-cutting technique. So is his ability to somehow style my unruly mass of mane into something manageable. The man works miracles. Working to evolve the salon industry's traditional methodology of cutting hair while wet, Reyman and team are going against the grain and cutting hair while dry, as it falls. Which he feels is just a more logical, evolved way of cutting. Spoke & Weal cuts often take less than 45 minutes and Reyman is upfront about how he trains his team not to act as a client's therapist, but to give them 'the best haircut of their life.' Which, as I sort of mentioned above, is the truth. I had a chance to connect with him, while he chopped into my previously untamable locks, about his approach, the current expansion into new markets and how they've grown such a dedicated clientele. Read on for our discussion, below.

You started Spoke & Weal in San Francisco. Who is your clientele there, and why that city to start?

San Francisco was a good jumping-off point. We opened fresh without any roots or name in a city that none of us lived in. Christy Dylo, our master stylist and trainer, moved from Minneapolis on faith that we could do what I said we could. This happened pretty quickly. We did not, and have not, done "studies" or SWAT analysis. Its been more a Field of Dreams situation: if we build it, they will come.

I first heard about Spoke + Weal through a few influencer friends in the wellness space. What is it about the brand that is attracting so many beauty and wellness influencers, especially in Los Angeles? How does this ‘insider favorite’ status take form in other markets?

We don't “go after people” we let our work speak for itself. We want guests who genuinely want to see us and appreciate our work. I think our relaxed relationships (meaning no formal trade or sponsorships), but definitely appreciating the support influencers and social media provides for spreading our work and the word, helps create more intimate relationships with all our guests and especially those who have established themselves as influencers. We work hard to make it easy for people.

We are also not celebrity-driven. We just want to do excellent work for people who want it. We always want to understand our success and exposure comes from our talent and drive and not from a once-removed resource. Our attitude is try us, if you love us great, if you love another place better, great, we want you to be happy.

We are the go-to for people who are looking for alternatives in every market we are in.

Tell us about your dry cutting technique? Why haven’t other salons been doing this? Is this part of why you think you’ve been able to so successfully enter other markets

We believe wet haircutting is antiquated and inferior. I can spend fifteen minutes cutting hair dry and it will be better than a four hour wet haircut. Better meaning, the length and density of hair is managed more carefully, clearly and refined. Hair will be softer and more modern looking.

Wet cutting is the least important part of the haircut. It’s the gross-moves part. The initial chopping of the block. The actual refinement and definition takes place in the dry cutting.

Other salons have been trained under older methods. They are stuck in the past cutting small sections and blunt lines. They cut length to manage density (enter heavy layers). Cutting dry we can cut blunt lines, layers, manage length and density more perfectly.

Yes, we are successful because we give better haircuts in less time. Our haircuts “grow in” not out, they last longer. We have created a language that is simple, that helps us deliver what our guests are asking for. We are driven by giving guests the best haircuts in the world.

You started Spoke + Weal after working for years as a master trainer at Aveda. How have you woven clean beauty into your own brand and how are you still working with Aveda products?

We use Aveda in our salons. We want natural eco-concious products that still deliver the results we are looking for. We want performance, results, and environmental awareness to be embedded in our services.

As the ‘talent’ how have you so successfully been able to map out this beautiful growth strategy? Did you find and MBA to help you on a consulting basis, or take on a co-founder who has grown brands in the past?

I do not want to be the most important person in the room. The business is not built on my success but built on the success of the team and our ability to collaborate. We have created clear cutting, color, styling, and culture systems. We stay flexible and strong. I surround myself with people who are capable. My business partners compliment me, and one another, perfectly. Our master team members and educators, Dell Miller, Lindsay Victoria, Jay Braff to name a few have contributed in ways we would have a hard time quantifying. Building Spoke & Weal has always and will continue to depend on the entire teams commitment and sacrifice.

Does technique remain the same, regardless of place, or are your stylists taking different approaches in places like Los Angeles and Nashville, or New York and Chicago?

Everyone is trained on and required to master our techniques. How they use these is up to their individual creative process and consultation. Our pro’s have brands within our brand. We believe the diversity of what we offer, and our collaborative culture, makes us collectively the technically-strongest salon in the world. We are enormously committed to culture. We fail forward. We are constantly striving to challenge ourselves and each other. We communicate clearly and invest heavily in protecting and cultivating our culture. This is what our company retreats and monthly meetings are about. In our organization, culture is everything. Hence our mission.

For those without a Spoke + weal in their city yet, how do you advise customers ensure their stylists are taking the best care of their hair and giving them the best cut possible?

I would ask if the hairdresser is able to cut dry. Find a hairdresser that has committed to continued education. Communicate clearly and bring in pictures. We hope to be in your city soon!