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Cacao Tree Cafe

Vegan made easy — and delicious.

MARY MELDRUM
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Amber Poupore

Cacao Tree Cafe

204 W. 4th St.
Royal Oak
(248) 336-9043

A

mber Poupore started
as a dish washer in the
famous Inn Season Cafe
in Royal Oak and worked her
way up to manager. After 11
years with Inn Season, Poupore
began her own vegan entrepre-
neurial adventure with Cacao
Tree Cafe in August 2010.
Cacao Tree is not just her
restaurant; it is her mission, her
passion, her life — and part of
her legacy. Eating a plant-based
diet for more than 19 years,
Poupore offers what she has
learned to the public through a
menu and a space next to the
railroad tracks in Royal Oak.
This restaurant makes going
vegan so easy and attractive.
Cacao Tree is small. When
you walk in, you are looking
at the kitchen. All the food is
prepared in plain sight by the
friendly staff.
“We really have a challenge
when it comes to getting cus-
tomers to come in, have a good
experience and then come
back,” Poupore says. “When you
are up against all these corpo-
rate institutions, people recog-
nize brands, they are familiar
with things and more comfort-
able going into a corporate
business than they are trying
something new.”
Amber reminds her staff that
they have one opportunity for
customers to enjoy their experi-
ence — whether the food and/
or the service — one chance to
get them to come back.

“For me, customer service,
high-quality ingredients and
never losing the integrity of
what we do has been para-
mount to our success,” she says.
The menu is organic, non-
GMO and impressive. There is
no soy, no gluten, and the only
animal products on the prem-
ises are raw honey and raw
bee pollen that is locally and
responsibly sourced.
You won’t miss any of the glu-
ten, soy or the meat. Aside from
being delicious and filling, the
variety of food offered is stun-
ning and colorful. Everything
is vibrant, fresh and honestly
nutritious. Ingredients include
turmeric, ginger and yes, cacao,
among many others. A myriad
of smoothies, juices, salads and
wraps adorn the menu with
specialty sauces, soups, dress-
ings and even pasta dishes.
“We don’t have an account
with Sysco Foods or U.S. Foods.
We have specialty purveyors
that only carry organic, non-
GMO products,” Poupore says.
“For me, it is not about profit. It
is about offering a product that
people can trust that’s healing.
“We strive for quality that
exceeds expectations,” she con-
tinues. “Our clients include mil-
lennials and yogis, yes, but we
also have many people who suf-
fer from chronic illness, degen-
erative diseases, heart disease,
cancer and diabetes.”
The bulk of the people who
find and frequent Cacao Tree

are those who need healing and
clean food.
As more people learn about
the recuperative power of a
plant-based diet, places like
Cacao Tree Cafe are becoming
more mainstream. Poupore
opened her second restaurant,
the Clean Plate, in Shelby
Township about three years
ago. Like Cacao Tree, it offers
the same intensely high-quality
plant-based food with a menu
more along the lines of comfort
food. Both of her restaurants
are seeing robust business with
a high percentage of returning
patrons.
Poupore’s energy and pas-
sion for plant-based diet is
contagious. She was chosen to
be part of a documentary film
that has just been produced

called Eating You Alive, which
drills down on the importance
of choosing great food for
your body and how your diet
impacts your overall health and
well being.
She also volunteers at a
Native Indian reservation,
teaching about the health
impacts of a plant-based diet
as it relates to diabetes. The
food eaten on the reservation
is widely subsidized by the U.S.
government and much of it is
processed. The results from
switching this native popula-
tion to a plant-based diet have
been remarkable.
“When we see that kind of
progress and when people
share with you the success of
their health journey to a plant-
based diet, it is so rewarding.” •

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2141080

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February 2 • 2017

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