Guest guest Posted October 19, 2008 Report Share Posted October 19, 2008 Heidi Van Pelt hopes to improve on soul food I magine a fried chicken dinner without the chicken … Now lose the fantasy, because it’s about to go down. Heidi Van Pelt, the young woman who made a man out of then-17-year-old Taran Noah Smith (of “Home Improvement†fame), is poised to open a new biz in the Uptown Shoppes at 37th and Broadway. “It will be vegan with raw food and cooked food — all organic,†Van Pelt says. “It’s going to be diner and gourmet, and we’ll have a juice bar.†And the menu? “You know, the stuff your grandma used to make,†Van Pelt says. “Except it will be vegan. Like fried chicken, but instead of chicken it will be made from wheat flour. I’ll make it from scratch. I make the skin, too, homemade skin. It’s weird, but it tastes like chicken.†Here’s the plan. “I’m taking it to another level,†Van Pelt says. “I use the brain to come up with the tricks — they’re just kitchen tricks — and I’m a kitchen witch.†The name of Van Pelt’s new game: Sol Fud. ETA: “At the latest, three months,†she says. “Hopefully sooner. It depends on how fast the Health Department OKs it. It should be awesome.†There’s more. “We’ll have events there with movie nights and guest speakers and bulk organic retail specialty goods,†Van Pelt says. “It’s a big space, 7,000 square feet.†Uptown Theater main man Larry Sells is developing the center and assisting Van Pelt in the endeavor. “We’re going to have artwork,†Sells says. “We’ll have sofas and tables and chairs from Soreal Design.†Soreal, Sells’ former business, specialized in contemporary and art deco-style furniture and whimsical items and accessories. Future expansion of the concept into Parkville and Johnson County is on the drawing board, Van Pelt says. “The goal is to franchise, to get it out. So we’re starting in midtown.†Now if she can just settle that pesky divorce and lawsuit over Playfood, the Parkville business she co-owns with Smith. Fountain fundamentals Regarding the Brookside fountain that was intended to serve as a memorial to deceased Dime Store owner Bob Arfsten… The reason it didn’t make it into the final park plan: $$$$ For the Kansas City Parks Department to authorize a fountain, it not only needs to be paid for, but also an endowment to repair and maintain it must be set up, says former longtime parks commish Bob Lewellen. “That’s so we don’t have what we’ve had in Kansas City for years,†Lewellen says. “A whole bunch of fountains in various states of disrepair because nobody has the money to keep them up.†As for Brookside going ahead with plantings and a plaque in lieu of a fountain for Arfsten: “I guess they just got tired of waiting and decided to build something,†Lewellen says. “It’s been just a grassroots, jars-on-the-counter type of thing.†Planning for the small park was begun on Lewellen’s watch. So effectively there has been a moratorium of sorts on new fountains? “Oh yeah, we won’t accept it unless there’s an endowment,†Lewellen says. “Even the huge Union Station fountain has one, and it’s already been used to the tune of several hundred thousand dollars.†Peter vvSend instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 19, 2008 Report Share Posted October 19, 2008 If she's gonna use " Fud, " then " Soreal Fud " is a catchier name. At 11:50 AM +0000 10/19/08, Peter VV wrote: ..... The name of Van Pelt's new game: Sol Fud.... .....Soreal, Sells' former business, specialized in contemporary and art deco-style furniture and whimsical items and accessories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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