Bakery No Longer Vegan And No Longer In London

I’m feeling confused.

I was in Ealing Broadway this weekend, taking a look around the shops and catching up on all the vegan options in the area. I headed to Benji’s Buns, what I remembered to be a vegan cinnamon bun bakery, only to find it closed with a big ‘to let’ sign in the window.

I finally got around to doing some research today and what I discovered has left me feeling bemused.

Read more below.

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Benji’s Buns was a bit of an oddity.

A 100% vegan bakery in one of the least vegan-friendly parts of London. Ealing Broadway is not thick with the quantity of plant-based options that you will find in east London, so to have a vegan cinnamon shop in this part of the city was a true novelty.

I thought the buns were tasty and it was a treat to be able to pop in for a takeaway box and a cheeky vegan milkshake.

I was sad to see it closed this weekend but when I jumped online to get some answers, I came away with more some strange updates.

Here are some of the things that surprised me:

1.

Benji’s Buns apparently had a second location in Notting Hill that I knew nothing about. I must be slipping as the most infamous vegan food fanatic in town because I had no idea they had a spot there.

2.

A few months ago, Benji’s founder Ben was trying to find a buyer for the Ealing business and someone to take over the lease of the Notting Hill location due to him having to relocate to another country.

3.

Benji’s Buns had apparently started selling animal products! Some social media comments alluded to non-vegan savoury options being served by the shops, which is obviously sad news but also bizarre for a business that was launced on being proudly vegan.

A Trip Advisor commented included, “Business owner exceptionally immature, built a business with a vegan brand and then suddenly started selling animal products and blocking everyone that asked questions on social media.”

4.

There is now a Benji’s Bun NYC Instagram account that has been sharing updates that the business is moving to New York! I won’t dox Ben by giving out his personal Instagram but he has been posting about relocating to the USA and discussed that he is reopening his cinnamon bun business over there.

What a whacky journey! I hope this new version of the business reverts to fully vegan.

Anyway, if you know of any vegan businesses in west London that would appreciate some coverage around these parts please let me know.

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