Vegan Jamaican eatery DaJen Eats closes in Eatonville

The Jamaican eatery that provided “ridiculous” vegan food to Eatonville has closed its doors for good this week after seven years of service.

Chef and owner Jenn Ross made the announcement on social media June 16.

"I told my bestie, who I met through DaJen Eats — no less, I'd stop when it's not fun any more; when I stop learning and discovering; when the work becomes a chore and a price I'm unwilling to pay," the post reads.

DaJen Eats opened in 2017 serving traditional Jamaican dishes with a plant-based twist. Previously starting out serving meatless meals from her food truck stationed on North Orange Blossom Trail, Ross was inspired to start a line of vegan burgers with big flavor, she told Orlando Weekly back in 2020.

"We're not worried about health, we're just going to do ridiculous vegan food," Ross said. "If you close your eyes and think of the exact opposite of what a vegan dish should be — that's what we create on the truck. It's meant to be decadent."

And that goal came to fruition with Ross's brick-and-mortar outpost, which specialized in dishes like traditional Jamaican jerk chick'n (made from wheat-based meat replacement seitan), “hoax tail,” mango scotch bonnet ribs and dairy-free Irie cream.



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