There's a cow loose in East Nashville

Melanie Cochran, left, serves up lunch to Jen Hall and Drew Phillips at the Wild Cow. (Credit: Alan Poizner)

A new vegetarian restaurant has opened in East Nashville.

The Wild Cow, at 1896 Eastland Ave., offers vegetarian and vegan fare, including ready-to-go sandwiches, soups, vegan dips and humus, handmade veggie burgers, vegan baked goods and daily specials. The restaurant carries vegan and organic wine, hard cider, daily specials, a kids menu and organic baby food.

Melanie and John Cochran, who have lived in the East Nashville area for over eight years, own the new restaurant. Recently, Melanie Cochran answered a few questions about the new business.

Why did you choose East Nashville for your restaurant?

"We love the community feel of the area and the friendliness of the people. We also thought it would be a great place for a vegetarian restaurant, because the people in the neighborhood are diverse, open-minded, and supportive of local businesses."

What is something special about The Wild Cow?

"We are a vegetarian restaurant with vegan options for all items. We also have many gluten-free items and also working on developing more raw options due to the many requests we've received. We are very involved in supporting the needs of the community and supporting organizations that promote ideas that we believe in, such as animal welfare, humane farming, hunger and environmentalism.

"Our grand opening party was a fundraiser for East C.A.N. (Community Action Network) and raised $1,200 for them. Every month, a member of our staff gets to choose a nonprofit organization that we support that month. The staff member who chooses the organization gets to create a special menu item, and every time someone orders that item, a portion of the proceeds will go to that organization. We are happy to be in a position where we can do something good for people and animals in need."

What were you doing before you launched the business?

"John has worked in many restaurants and has done everything from managing to cooking and bartending. Managing restaurant kitchens and cooking are the skills he is bringing into this venture. I was a producer-director of music documentaries at TH Entertainment and a yoga instructor. I am still teaching yoga, and I am also in the process of getting certified to be an Ayurvedic practitioner. I also have years of restaurant experience."

How did you come up with the name The Wild Cow for a vegetarian restaurant?

"The name comes from our disagreement with factory farms, where animals are constrained and sometimes can never even turn around for the duration of their entire lives. So, to us, the idea of the wild cow represents a better way of life for farm animals. Also, the wild cow is now extinct, since they are only used for food. So the wild cow is a symbol of a more natural, humane way of life. It's a protest against confined animal feeding operations, which is where the vast majority of our country's meat comes from. We like the idea of animals having the freedom to roam around freely, hence the wild cow."

What's the best thing about having your own business?

"Being able to give back to the community and support ideas and organizations that we are passionate about. We have a wonderful staff, and it's already been so rewarding to see everyone work together with a common goal of making delicious and healthy vegetarian/vegan food. We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to handpick our staff and we chose people who share our passion and philosophies. It's also great to be able to choose our daily specials and create any menu items that we feel like eating that day."