Restaurateur Dina Mitchell will revolutionize the fast-food industry with PowerSoul Cafe, the quick-service restaurant that will serve an entirely gluten-free, non-GMO fast-food menu with vegan and keto options. After 14 years of establishing Tropical Smoothie Cafes throughout Las Vegas and Southern California, Mitchell is ready for a new and exciting chapter with the debut of PowerSoul Cafe in early 2022.
The inspiration stemmed from Mitchell’s six-week break from gluten, dairy, sugar, and caffeine during the pandemic. Having taken cooking classes all over the world, including Italy and Le Corden Bleu in Paris, Mitchell began experimenting with natural ingredients to make healthy gluten-free and vegan foods, which she shared with her neighbors. When one neighbor remarked that he never knew healthy foods could taste so good, Mitchell told What Now Las Vegas that “it just became completely clear” that she wanted to make healthy gluten-free and vegan foods available to the public. In mid-December, she went back to her office to draft a business plan.
Mitchell is determined to change people’s minds about gluten. By applying food science to her recipes, Mitchell is able to achieve the soft texture associated with gluten foods using naturally gluten-free flours such as buckwheat, coconut, and certified gluten-free oat. Although her some of her recipes still have sugar, she mostly tries to avoid refines sugars. The hardest challenge has been making foods that are both gluten-free and vegan, but that hasn’t deterred Mitchell who has achieved delicious and soft gluten-free and vegan muffins.
PowerSoul will serve an array of delicious foods including smoothie bowls, bagel bites, egg bites, pastries, biscuits, English muffin, vegan sausage, casseroles, individualized pizzas, and the signature Shorty–a pizza pocket that comes in over twenty gluten-free flavors including coconut curry chicken and creamed spinach, kale, Swiss chard, and parmesan.
Although PowerSoul Cafe will have a smaller footprint without a lobby or bathroom, it will include a drive thru, walk-up window, and self-serve pick-up similar to Amazon lockers, except these will be made of glass, well lit, and accessible through a QR code. The quick-service restaurant will be open 24 hours a day.
Driven to give back to the community and do its part, PowerSoul will offer a charitable program that gives patrons the option of buying and donating a smoothie or rounding up the cost of their order, which goes toward prepping food and smoothies that are donated to a rotation of local charities. PowerSoul employees will also be compensated for volunteer work.
Mitchell told What Now Vegas that she is currently working on four sites, the first of which will launch in Las Vegas, followed by Reno and Lake Tahoe. The year 2022 will be a new era for the fast-food industry with PowerSoul Cafe trailblazing the path to accessible healthy, and delicious eats.
