Traditional French croissants rely on butter for their flakiness. Tender crêpes rely on butter, eggs, and milk—none of which will be in the kitchen at La Vie Vegan Bistro (524 S. Main), slated to open March 14 in the former home of the popular vegan café Peace, Love, and Coffee.
Owner Natacha Douglas and general manager Amaya Jimenez have perfected 100 percent plant-based versions of these favorites, as well as French-inspired soups, salads, sandwiches, and pastries—and they plan to offer gluten-free crêpes and baguettes.
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Also in the works is the relocation of La Pâtisserie Paris Café (119 Flower Valley), the French bakery in Florissant that Douglas took over at year’s end.
Here’s what to know before you go.
The Menu
All of the familiar French bakery counter favorites are accounted for on La Vie Vegan’s menu: croissants, danishes, quiche, macarons, cupcakes, cheesecake, fruit tarts, cake doughnuts…
Douglas first proposed the concept of a high-quality pâtisserie menu that uses only plant-based ingredients to Jimenez, who has been vegetarian for six years. After researching the best ingredients, suppliers, and wholesalers, they decided it was a workable concept. “Natacha has worked hours and hours and hours on it,” Jimenez says.
For lunch, customers will be able to choose from five sandwiches on croissants (or request a baguette for a gluten-free variation). The menu will include a BLT with avocado spread, a PB&J with grape jelly or assorted jams from La Bonne Maman, a grilled cheese, a Caprese, and a veggie-filled sandwich with chipotle aïoli or basil pesto.
Soups (tomato bisque, ratatouille, French onion) and salads (Niciose, Caesar, seasonal spring mix with berries) are quintessentially French.
For Douglas, the most challenging menu item was the gluten-free, vegan crêpes. There are trade-offs in texture that chefs need to make based on the ingredients, and she has been educating future customers about what to expect.
Douglas has taken great care to capture every last detail of an authentic French café experience, right down to the crème chantilly. “We made sure we have a whipped cream that’s gluten-free and vegan,” she says.
The café utilizes a L’OR Barista high-pressure brewing system for consistent cups of the famous French brand’s coffees, including the Bonjour Blend (light roast), Provocateur Blend and Décaf Blend (medium roast), and Le Tigre Blend (dark roast). Specialty drinks such as café au lait, cortado, espresso, and latte (with milk options of almond, oat, coconut, and soy) round out the coffee menu.
Hot teas from Harney & Sons are both herbal (cinnamon spice, chamomile, peppermint, and raspberry) and caffeinated (jasmine, English breakfast, Japanese sencha, and Paris, a fruity mix with lemony bergamot, the citrusy fruit that adds flavor to Earl Grey). La Vie Vegan will also stock French lemonades, Pure Leaf bottled iced tea, Fitz’s sodas, and juices.
The Atmosphere
Douglas is excited about La Vie Vegan’s location in historic St. Charles, which taps into French history and architecture. And she feels the café is already part of a small business ecosystem that mirrors what one might find in a neighborhood in Paris.
Jimenez is the creative force behind the aesthetics at La Vie Vegan, overseeing both the day-to-day operations and its visual identity. The décor is reminiscent of an indoor village playhouse, with nods to other businesses that one might find in a Parisian setting, such as bakeries and bookstores. As someone who used to do her college homework at Peace Love Coffee, Jimenez is enthusiastic about maintaining a relaxed atmosphere.
“We’d love people who aren’t vegan or vegetarian and have never done a meatless day to come in and try it,” Jimenez says. “They can step out of their comfort zone and give it up for a day or a week or a season like Lent. One meal does make a difference.”
The Team
A native of Guadeloupe, a French region in the Caribbean, Douglas grew up absorbing a mindset that approaches food with less urgency and efficiency, where customers are encouraged to linger. After earning an MBA and a doctorate in health professions education, Douglas was an administrator at Logan College of Chiropractic, which is where she first met Jimenez. In 2023, she opened French Crêperie in Chesterfield as “a weekend hobby that completely blew up.”
Douglas wasn’t looking to add a St. Charles location—or offer vegan fare—when she was approached about the opportunity in St. Charles. The story of the Peace, Love, Coffee business touched her heart: After the café lost one of its owners, Heather Granger, to cancer, her husband Jason Granger started looking for someone to buy the business.
When Douglas toured the space and talked with Granger, she was struck by how much he cared about the establishment going to people who would continue it in spirit. She decided “we have to make this place work.”
Serendipitously, Jimenez had been a regular customer and knew the Grangers. “I loved the restaurant and the atmosphere when you walked in,” she says. It had been a gathering spot for the vegan community, with a menu that offered hard-to-find indulgences rather than ultra-healthy fare.
“This is much more than just taking over a business,” Douglas says. “It’s a legacy—and you want to make them proud. I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to fulfill their vision.”
And Douglas plans to carry on another legacy as well: La Pâtisserie Paris Café, a lively French bakery known for its themed high teas and creative items like crookies. The business was formerly owned by Kitt Villasis-Corbin, but after being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s, she chose to focus on her health and her family. The lease at La Pâtisserie’s previous location was up, so Douglas is currently looking for a new home where she can implement its second iteration, staying true to the customer experience that Villasis-Corbin established.
