A few years ago, Suzanne van Huuksloot decided to start her own restaurant. Inspired by the motto ‘world peace starts in the kitchen’ and vegan herself it had to be a vegan place. Still thinking about the concept, she went to the U.S. for some exploratory conversations with a plant-based chef/entrepreneur. It was there that she visited L.A. restaurant Gracias Madre, and immediately fell in love with the place. A very nice, big and bustling Mexican restaurant serving only vegan food. The fact that they don’t advertise it as vegan also appealed to Suzanne. “I thought this was very cool. It helps to normalise it, not too label it as a distinct vegan place.” She could picture a place like this in Amsterdam as well.

The owners of Gracias Madre were not interested in collaborating as in fact they were trying to sell the restaurant, so Suzanne decided to set up her own project, loosely based on what she appreciated about Gracias Madre. In fact she was not a complete stranger to Mexican food, as she used to work in a Mexican restaurant for some time.

Of course the corona pandemic added some additional challenges, but after she found a dream location eventually Madre opened October 2021. Read more