A vegan restaurant in Harlem-owned by two sisters from the neighborhood is celebrating its one-year anniversary this week, even after opening during the pandemic amid financial uncertainty.

The restaurant was also started to support underserved students in an after-school program, which the sisters also run. Because the restaurant is thriving, the after-school program can keep its doors open.

Sisters Janine Smalls-Gueye and Lanise Herman-Thomas said they love being able to cook for their community in their Harlem restaurant called Vegan Hood.

Even more, they love being able to use their culinary skills to give back to the community that has given so much to them.

“So you know when people eat with us they eat for a cause because the proceeds go back into our youth development program,” said Smalls-Gueye.

That cause is just a quick Uber ride from Vegan Hood.

The profits the pair make from their vegan restaurant support their Harlem-based nonprofit Young Excellence Society, which provides educational and developmental opportunities to dozens of the community’s underserved youth.

“We noticed right away what we were deprived of,” Smalls-Gueye said. “We had a great upbringing, great parents. But the resources wasn’t there. The community centers weren’t there.”

The sisters’ journey as restaurateurs started when financial strains from COVID-19 threatened the existence of the Young Excellence Society.

They decided to start selling vegan meals out of their office kitchen in 2020 to financially support the after-school program.

“Sometimes we can draw and paint,” said Amely Aquino, a student.

Their meal service became so successful that the pair opened Vegan Hood.

“I’ve been in the kitchen since I was 10. I’ve always loved watching my mom cook,” said Herman-Thomas.

Health and personal reasons forced the sisters to become vegan years ago. However, in 2020, the pandemic magnified health disparities in their Black and brown community.

They wanted to help by exposing people in the neighborhood to healthier food choices.

“Our community is plagued by high blood pressure, diabetes and those things,” Herman-Thomas said. “It made me feel like this is something that so many of our people are dealing with.”

Within the first five months of business, the restaurant made a six-figure profit, which meant that the Young Excellence Society could continue to operate and serve students, such as Caiden Hudgins who enjoys potting plants.

“So the plants can grow,” he said.

The after-school program is a mission that is near to the sisters’ hearts.

Both were teen parents. Smalls-Gueye and Herman-Thomas said they believe they may have made better choices in their youth if resources such as the Youth Excellence Society were available to them.

“For my daughter, my dream has always been for her to have a way easier life than me,” said Herman-Thomas.

Both sisters are not easily deterred. Despite the obstacles, both of them have attained a graduate level education and they’re planning on opening a second restaurant in Georgia.

“This is just the beginning,” Herman-Thomas said.

The after-school program employs more than a dozen employees and serves about 75 students, most of which are from two Success Academy Charter Schools Harlem locations.