Before she opened one of Baltimore’s best-loved vegan restaurants, Naijha Wright-Brown was an enthusiastic meat and dairy eater.

“I was living good, or thought I was, enjoying all this stuff,” she said.

A visit to the doctor shifted her perspective. Wright-Brown learned she had high cholesterol and set about changing her diet.

“I’m holistic. I don’t like to take drugs,” she said. “I had to figure out how to improve my health.”

The answer, for her, was to cut the meat and dairy. More than a decade later, Wright-Brown is working to help others make similar shifts.

She and her husband, Gregory Brown, are the owners of The Land of Kush, a vegan restaurant on the edge of Seton Hill that proves plant-based eating doesn’t have to be limited to salads and tofu scrambles.

At The Land of Kush, the couple puts a vegan spin on soul food classics like ribs, mac ’n cheese and collard greens. Plant-based “crab” cakes are another top-selling item, and made PETA’s nationwide list of Top 10 vegan seafood dishes in 2018.

She has been active in spreading the vegan gospel, starting Vegan SoulFest in 2014, a food and music festival. SoulFest took a break during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s back on again this year: Wright-Brown said she’s already sold 2,000 tickets for the two-day event, scheduled for Aug. 19-20.

She also teamed up with Sam Claassen, the owner of Hampden’s Golden West Cafe, to start Maryland Vegan Restaurant Month. The promotion shines a spotlight on restaurants offering vegan options every spring and summer. And through a nonprofit, the Black Veg Society, she organizes tasting events that offer inner-city communities the opportunity to sample vegan food products.

Wright-Brown, 50, describes herself as someone who constantly has several projects working at once. She doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. In the years to come, she wants to expand both Vegan SoulFest and Maryland Vegan Restaurant Month. She also started “Naijha Speaks,” an online talk show that catches up with advocates of vegan living.

When The Land of Kush opened 12 years ago, it was one of the only Black-owned vegan businesses in the city. The scene has greatly expanded in the years since, adding spots like My Mama’s Vegan, Dodah’s Kitchen, Gangster Vegan Organics and Cajou Creamery.

Wright-Brown sees the growing number of vegan restaurants as an opportunity to teach more people about the benefits of a plant-based diet.

“There’s enough for everyone to go around,” she said. “We’re all in this together.”

— Amanda Yeager