Meet Nooch, Denver’s First Vegan Market

June 21, 2012 | blog posts

Many of you know Vanessa through your interactions with her at the store or through her line of vegan bags and wallets Beans & Rice, but what you may not know is that she has been working on opening Denver’s first all Vegan Market, NOOCH. She recently took the time to sit down and answer a few questions for us about this new endeavor.

FT: How did the idea for NOOCH come about?

VG: It’s been Josh’s dream to open a vegan grocery store for few years now and I’d been considering opening a small vegan retail shop for a little over a year. We’d been working together on projects and outreach through Plants & Animals Denver(a vegan advocacy nonprofit) and back in January Josh mentioned that he was ready to give the store a try and I thought what better an opportunity than to combine forces and open a store that has both grocery and retail elements. We started participating in a little popup market called Neat Market to share some hard to find vegan items with people while we searched for the perfect storefront location.

NOOCH owners Vanessa Gochnour & Josh LaBure

FT: Why does Denver need a Vegan Market?

VG: Veganism is really gaining momentum in Denver. There are events big and small happening all the time now. It’s really exciting being a part of a growing community and we want to offer it more. There are so many vegan products that we read about on blogs and in magazines and a lot of them never make their way to Denver. NOOCH can definitely change that. And the support we’ve received so far, just in our beginning stages, has been so amazing!

FT: What kind of products can we expect to find at NOOCH?

VG: NOOCH will carry typical grocery items like bulk foods (grains, legumes, nuts, flours etc) canned goods, local produce, grab-and-go meals, and specialty meat and cheese alternatives. We’ll also have an array of items like cookbooks, bags, belts, wallets, vitamins, cleaning products, toiletries, and perhaps even some kitchen wares.

FT: What is the biggest misconception of the Vegan movement?

VG: I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that veganism is all about perfection, if you’re not a perfect vegan and know everything about everything, then that’s it, you’re out of the club! Most of us haven’t been vegan forever, it’s a process and everyone comes at it from a different angle. Veganism is really about being aware of how our consumer choices affect animals, our health, and our planet. It’s about turning that awareness into positive change.

If you’d like to support NOOCH you can donate to their Kickstarter page here. Keep an eye out for NOOCH which is slated to open at 3360 Larimer Street, Denver in mid-July.

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