Artichoke Red's grand re-opening in College Park

Products such as Quinoa Veggie Curls Pasta, Hemp pro fiber and vegan cat food line the walls of the newly opened Artichoke Red Vegan Market. The green floor shines, basked in sunlight from the front window, and there’s a clean earthy smell.

The store went from 350-square-feet at its old location on North Orange Avenue to 1,200 square feet at their new College Park location. Size and parking issues prompted the move to 2808 Edgewater Drive.

“This store is four times as big as the old one,” said Jane O’Neal, an employee at Artichoke Red.

“If we got two to three people and a baby stroller in the store, it was difficult to move,” owner Sam Cardon said.

Cardon started Artichoke Red Vegan Market three and a half years ago to make the vegan lifestyle easier. He has been vegan for seven years, and after realizing the difficulties of shopping at a typical grocery store, he decided to open an all-vegan market to make shopping less of a hassle.

“You could spend hours shopping at a regular store reading labels.” Cardon said.

The store had a re-opening event on Sunday, Nov. 4, so new and old customers could see the store at its new location and enjoy some vegan chili and other snacks.

Joe Harris, who has been vegan for three years, has shopped at both locations and says the new location is much larger and easier to shop.

“I want to see the store successful, see it work,” Harris said.

The market doesn’t sell just food. It also has body care, vegan cosmetics, cleaning products, candles, aromatherapy, dog and cat products, coffee, teas, vitamins and herbs.

“We’re the only all vegan store in Orlando,” O’Neal said.

The store would like to keep it that way — one of their goals is to become Orlando’s one-stop-shop for vegan shoppers and show others that the vegan lifestyle is easy to incorporate.

For more information about Artichoke Red Vegan Market visit artichokered.com or find them on Facebook. Their new location is at 2808 Edgewater Drive, Just two blocks south of Edgewater High School, in College Park.