SOUTH SHORE — Betty Bot Bakery is bringing vegan baked goods and other vegan snacks and treats to South Shore starting Friday.
The bakery’s first retail location at 7100 South Shore Drive consolidates much of founder Betty Alper’s many baking ventures in the neighborhood she lives in.
Alper is the latest in a growing list of vegan chefs, bakers and caterers opening in South Shore, with vegetarian restaurant Majani opening nearby in June.
She said Wednesday she doesn’t think there is anything unique about the neighborhood that’s attracting vegan options, but there is something unique about diners searching for vegan options.
“I think vegan food, whatever neighborhood it’s in, is a destination point,” Alper said. “The people who want it will check it out wherever it is.”
Like the owners of Majani, Alper said she was attracted to South Shore foremost because it’s where she lives, and it didn’t hurt that the rents were affordable.
Starting Friday, Alper will begin to discover if the customers who know her cakes, cookies and brownies from the Logan Square and 61st Street farmers markets will venture south to try her other creations that aren’t available there or at the 15 retail locations that sell Betty Bot’s baked goods.
Alper said she will offer unique smoothie flavors like pumpkin seed milk, chocolate and banana. She said she’s enjoyed lately experimenting more with the flavor of pumpkin seeds and is trying to create smoothies known to contain foods high in nutritional value.
She will also offer a range of vegan and gluten-free toasts, including a flatbread made from chickpeas with avocado or a nut spread similar to cream cheese.
Alper said there will be a selection of coffee and teas as well, and she’s experimenting with more drinks for the menu, like a lemonade with activated charcoal, which she said is considered to be a cleanser.
She will move all her baking operations to South Shore from Three Oaks, Mich., and is looking to hire some extra help for the first time after 10 years in business.
The bakery is expected to operate from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays and Mondays, and by appointment only Tuesdays through Thursdays.
