New Byron restaurant offers tasty plant based food & cold pressed juices

At Verus Vine Plant Based Kitchen in Byron, owners Lavellie and Tory Thomas aim to offer fresh, nutritious and delicious juices, smoothies and plant based food.

The new spot at 100 Hamilton Pointe, Suite 145, is in the same shopping center as Crooklyn Roots, which opened in March, and Philly Italian Water Ice, which opened in July 2019.

“Our goal is to serve people here to help nourish their bodies,” said Lavellie Thomas, a licensed respiratory therapist turned entrepreneur.

She believes a whole food, plant-based diet “makes a big difference in the body.”

The couple, who celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary in August, began their journey to a plant-based diet at different times in their lives and over a period of years.

A native of Jamaica, she prepares all the food at the restaurant, and he, who’s from Florida, makes the cold pressed juices and smoothies.

They shy away from terms such as vegan and vegetarian because of the various levels in each. For example, most vegans do not eat honey because it’s a byproduct of bees, while some vegetarians will eat dairy products such as cheese, they said.

At Verus Vine Plant Based Kitchen, honey may be used, while their cheese is plant based, Lavellie Thomas said. Most dishes can be altered to accommodate the needs of the customer.

The dishes are designed to appeal to the palate of the everyday diner who’s looking for nutritious food, regardless of whether they consume a meatless diet or not.

“We pretty much cater to what people eat but it’s made in a different way — plant based,” Thomas said.

Covington couple give the restaurant a try

Alden and Ganella Jones of Covington were in Middle Georgia shopping for a flat screen TV recently when they decided to head to Crooklyn Roots, but found it closed.

Seeing the new Verus Vine Plant Based Kitchen nearby, they decided to give it a try.

“I’m not vegan but that was excellent,” said Alden Jones, who ordered the curry jackfruit stew that includes jackfruit, potato, carrots and onions with a side salad topped with a creamy ranch dressing made from cashews.

Jones also liked the “beet the blues” juice made with beet, apple, carrot and ginger.

His wife, who is vegan, tried the Verus power burger, an oat patty topped with sprouts, lettuce, tomato and onions and served with freshly sliced french fries.

“It was lovely,” said Ganella Jones, who also enjoyed the “sunrise bliss” drink made with carrot, orange, pineapple and turmeric.

What’s on the menu?

The restaurant offers five cold pressed juices with a choice of optional boosters such as honey, agave and lemon for an additional charge and four fruit smoothies blended with plant based milk and natural sweeteners, also with a choice of optional boosters such as flax seed, cinnamon and almond butter.

“We want to make sure what’s pressed out of the fruit and vegetables is at the purest form,” Tory Thomas said.

The simple menu also features two plant-based burgers, a sub and avocado toast, a kale salad, two power bowls, curry jackfruit stew, barbecue tofu plate and stacked nachos.

Add to that four sides of french fries, sweet potato fries, side salad and seasoned potatoes, as well as sorbet or carrot cake for dessert.

The restaurant also features specials that the owners post on Facebook when offered such as a recent Taco Tuesday.

None of the dishes are fried. The fries and burgers are toasted in an air fryer. Thomas makes the dishes to order. She uses a creamy cashew cheese for the nachos. Her power burger is an oat, walnut and mushroom base with natural yeast flakes and seasonings.

For the Thomases, their fledgling restaurant is not only a ministry to help people discover nutritious plant based foods but also has spiritual significance in their desire to keep their bodies healthy to honor God, they said.

The name of the restaurant also reflects their Christian faith, with “verus” Latin for what is true and “vine” chosen to reflect John 15, in which Jesus is the true vine and believers are the branches.

From a gift shop to a restaurant

The couple, who make their home in Roberta, moved to Middle Georgia from Florida about three years ago with their children.

Tory Thomas owns and operates the barbershop next door to the restaurant, “Be Sharp Styles & Cuts,” where he employs a master barber and a hairstylist.

The restaurant is in the former location of COG Flowers & Gifts, a flower shop that Lavellie Thomas owned and operated until the couple decided to go a different way.

“I have a passion for cooking,’ Lavellie Thomas said. “My husband has been telling me for years to open a restaurant.”

Tory Thomas said his wife often received requests from people in their former church in Florida to make them dishes as well as from people in their current church, Forsyth New Life Mission.

“When you start getting requests, that sounds like a restaurant to me,” Tory Thomas said.

Also, when the Thomases go out to eat in Middle Georgia, they found there are not a lot of options for plant based food. So, they decided, why not try a restaurant?

But before they reached that decision, they initially thought they’d open only with fresh-pressed juices as Verus Vine Juice Bar and created a Facebook page. They kept the Facebook page by that name to keep their followers and posted updates on their progress to open as a plant based kitchen.

Additionally, the Thomases opened only as a grab and go spot on May 8 because the space does not have a public restroom. The couple recently received approval to offer dine-in by providing customer access through an interior connecting door to the public restroom in the barbershop.

Still in their soft opening, the Thomases only had a table and a few chairs in the space on a recent visit but plan to add seating as word gets out about their restaurant.

“We’re very much a work in progress,” Tory Thomas said.

A repeat customer

Mary Jo McCary, a tourism specialist for the Byron Convention & Visitors Bureau, stopped in to see if the Thomases were ready to set a date for the restaurant’s grand opening. The couple wanted to wait to coordinate with family members in Florida to be able to attend.

McCary also picked up a late lunch to go. While her job is to promote local businesses, she’s already been to the restaurant three times since it opened to order food to go.

A former vegetarian who still enjoys plant based foods, McCary raved about the dishes she’s tried.

The restaurant’s hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday. The restaurant is currently closed on the weekends but Sunday hours may be added down the road. They can be reached at 478-654-5144.

This story was originally published June 2, 2025 at 2:00 AM.