minneapolis Star Tribune
jan 30, 2006

A St Paul vegan boutique marries new age and old school by opening in a house built by the merchant's great-grandfather.

by curt brown

Jon Novick figures his great-grandfather probably would shrug had he lived to see the Fast and Furless vegan boutique he recently opened in St Paul.

"He'd probably be scratching his head," said Novick, 36. "He might not understand the appeal."

In a bungalow that Russian-born carpenter Abe Novick built in 1925, Jon is now hawking shoes, belts, wallets, hats, cookies, honey, lip balm, makeup, neckties and purses—all made without animal products.

No leather. No fur. No wool, down or silk. And all goods come from certified sweatshop-free companies.

"At first, my parents would have liked me to stay in the corporate world, but they're coming around," said Novick, whose shop opened in November. "We had tons of people in here on our opening weekend, and that solidified for my parents that there are people looking for this type of thing. It's not just me."

New age meets old school, right on the northeast corner of Snelling and Stanford Avenues in the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood. That's where the Novick family tree took root in the early 1900s. Abe emigrated from Russia in 1907, working as a contractor and carpenter building houses in St Paul. Three of his buildings—a grocery store (now Brinkman lighting), the house-turned-vegan shop and Novick's Super Service—still stand a few blocks south of Macalester College.

Jon's father, Harvey, still runs the service station first managed by his dad, Joe. The brick garage dates back to 1928 and is considered among St Paul's longest-running auto repair shops.

Like many owners of family businesses, though, the latest generation has different passions than its predecessors. Carpenters and mechanics, make room for vegans.

Jon became a vegan—forgoing meat, dairy and any animal-based foods—after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He worked in Minneapolis, Chicago and California for a large marketing research firm. And hated it.

"It wasn't true to my own values," he said.

Living in Los Angeles in 2003, Jon found vegan boutiques in San Diego, San Francisco and Ventura, Calif. He said that others exist in New York City, but that his is the only 100 percent cruelty-free vegan boutique in Minnesota.

Bringing vegans together
"It might be common on the East and West coasts, but it's pretty rare in Midwestern U.S.A.," said Charlotte Cozzette, 51, of Eden Prairie, who is the president of the local Animal Rights Coalition. She recently bought some fake-leather boots and shoes from Novick.

"He's thoroughly charming, and so is the little house, and the shoes are so comfortable," she said. "It's a fun place to shop even if you're not vegan."

Novick said that a similar store has opened in Milwaukee and that some products can be found scattered in Twin Cities shops, but that his shop is unique in its variety of animal-free stuff under the same roof.

Dress shoes and sneakers are made with tightly woven microfibers, which breath like leather without sacrificing animals. The honey comes from rice, not bees. Even the promotions are quirky.

To usher in a Hempy Valentine's Day, for example, you can get a free organic lip balm with a trade-in of lip salve made with petroleum or lanolin—a fatty substance that comes from sheep glands.

"Who would want to rub that stuff on your lips anyway?" he said.

Another customer, Salena Kravik, 29, of Hudson, Wis., credits Novick for "taking a risk for us and bringing vegans together." She met him at a local meeting of EarthSave and is keeping her fingers crossed that the store makes it.

"It's symbolic of how progressive the Twin Cities are," Kravik said. "And, as a reflection of us as a community, I'm going to do all I can to help it survive."

Novick's overhead is low. He lives behind the shop, pays his father a little rent and, so far, is his only employee. In addition to products, he dispenses information.

To wit, a $14 tie made with renewable hemp also saves 3,000 silkworms, which are cooked and boiled to make silk ties, he says.

"I feel so lucky," Novick said. "I'm doing something I care deeply about that's important and in line with my values."

Curt Brown
(651) 298 1542