BLOOMINGTON — Beneath the Floor BloNo, 608 N. Principal St. in downtown Bloomington, is that this week’s choose for Eats of the Week.

The complete-service vegan and vegetarian restaurant is owned by Cecil and Jackie Gunderson. It launched in March 2020 as a meal prep service in Downs, however opened as a full-fledged restaurant in downtown Bloomington on June 13, 2022. The placement has been house to many different eating places, together with Garcia’s Pizza, Flinger’s Pizza Pub, the Lizard’s Lounge and Flip of the Century.

“Native and sustainable is a giant piece of it. On high of it being type of a distinct segment so far as the fare that we serve, being native and sustainable is necessary,” Jackie Gunderson stated. “We compost and recycle. We have hardly put any trash into the landfill. So, that is actually necessary to us and in our practices in how we run the enterprise.”

Cecil Gunderson started working at Avanti’s after shifting to Bloomington and finally grew to become govt chef at Lancaster’s, owned by Jan Lancaster, who now owns The Bistro in downtown.

The couple has been on a plant-based, meat- and dairy-free weight loss plan for the final 10 years after Jackie Gunderson grew to become in poor health and adopted elimination diets to determine the trigger. They had been then impressed to deliver vegan fare to Bloomington as a result of each time they traveled they needed to Google locations they may eat; a full menu that gives precisely that, Jackie Gunderson stated, is like “Christmas.”

She added that there was additionally loads of issues that Cecil Gunderson loved cooking that would not be simply translated to meal prep, so that they thought a full-service kitchen would assist accommodate that.

Along with serving because the restaurant’s common supervisor, Jackie Gunderson additionally works full-time because the supervisor of procurement for development and services purchases at Illinois State College. She can also be the president of the Penguin Undertaking of McLean County, a theater program for youths and younger adults with developmental disabilities.

“We hope that when individuals are available, they really feel like this can be a area the place they are often protected, they usually can get pleasure from meal, ” Jackie Gunderson stated. “We even have fairly a couple of allergy-friendly choices on the menu, and we take allergens very significantly. So, people that perhaps do not get that have, fairly often are stunned at our capability to sub or that loads of our stuff will be made gluten-free.”

Fashionable menu gadgets embody the Philly, which was the restaurant’s first ever sandwich, in addition to monster breakfast burritos, salads and vegan mac and cheese. Cheese or eggs will be added to breakfast gadgets, that are solely supplied on weekends.

The restaurant’s meal prep menu rotates each week; it permits clients to buy grab-and-go gadgets or purchase gadgets in bulk, together with house-made vegan smash sauce in addition to the breakfast burritos, biscuits and gravy, and extra. Moreover, the menu contains RAK (Random Act of Kindness) bowls, with a portion of the proceeds supporting native charitable organizations.

The Gundersons are additionally working to revamp the menu and add a selection of hen or shrimp for individuals who felt they may not discover one thing on the menu that suited them. The adjustments imply that the lunch and dinner menus might embody fewer sandwiches and extra bowls, much less fake meat and extra greens.

“We love feeding individuals and we love having an area the place individuals can really feel like they matter and their worries of the day can go away at the least lengthy sufficient to have a seat and have some good meals,” Jackie Gunderson stated. “We consider that the meals is admittedly the catalyst for lots of issues and once you deliver individuals collectively and provides them good meals, they’re extra prone to depart right here and really feel like they’ll conquer no matter they’re doing.”

Beneath the Floor BloNo provides indoor eating, takeout, on-line ordering and supply by way of DoorDash.

IF YOU GO What: Beneath the Floor BloNo The place: 608 N. Principal St., Bloomington Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Wednesday by way of Friday; 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday; closed Monday and Tuesday; Breakfast served from 9/11 a.m. on weekends Cellphone: 309-212-0333 Web site: https://utgblono.com/ or https://orders.cake.web/11398174 for meal prep orders

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