Fuel the Future of Boardwalk Vegan

Boardwalk Vegan isn’t just a restaurant — it’s a nostalgic gathering place, a sanctuary for good vegan Boardwalk-style food, friends, family, and a symbol of resilience, compassion and community.

For years, Chef Randy has poured his heart into every dish, serving awesome plant-based food. Now, after facing Ampullary Cancer, a rare aggressive cancer at the head of his pancreas, rough chemo with multiple hospital stays, and a huge Whipple surgery to save his life, he needs time to heal. He has been in the hospital for over 2 months with many complications. He and Boardwalk Vegan need you.

While Chef Randy focuses on recovery with his wife Krissie by his side, we’re working hard to keep the doors open, staff employed, and the awesome meals coming. But we can’t do it alone.

This fundraiser will help cover:

Additional operational costs while Chef Randy recovers

Payroll for a dedicated kitchen and front-of-house team opening more days

Catching up on important things that fell behind during the worst of days

Your support will help us keep going while Chef Randy is recovering as we struggle to fill the void.

Every dollar you give helps preserve a vital part of the Boardwalk Vegan community. Whether you’re a longtime regular, a first-time guest, or simply someone who believes in great food with a purpose, we welcome your support with open arms.

---------------------------------------------------------

If you'd like to make a larger contribution or explore becoming a benefactor or sponsor at Boardwalk Vegan, please reach out directly. We have an itemized list of needs and a wish list available for serious inquiries only.

From the Bottom of our hearts, thank you for standing with us during this season of challenges.

----------------------------------------------------------

Wanna know more about how we got here?

OUR STORY: How Boardwalk Vegan Was Born from Loss, Love & Resilience

Randy is a U.S. Navy veteran, powerhouse event producer, and self-taught vegan chef. In 2017, he and his wife Krissie stumbled upon a documentary called Forks Over Knives — and overnight, everything changed. They adopted a plant-based lifestyle, and what started as a simple choice soon became a calling.

Randy discovered his passion after hours in the kitchen, experimenting and creating extraordinary vegan dishes. Friends began calling him Chef Randolph-O, and his joy in feeding others lit up everyone around him.

Then came the storms.

For decades, Krissie and Randy ran a nationally recognized, high end, multi award-winning LIVE Events company — known for its spectacular productions and breathtaking transformations. Krissie dreamed, designed, and directed every detail. Randy built it all — lighting, draping, staging, and installation — the muscle behind the magic.

But in late 2019, at the height of success and in the middle of two massive VIP casino events, Randy began experiencing severe stomach pain. Within days, their world stopped. The diagnosis was colon cancer.

Even after a grueling surgery and recovery, Randy pushed himself to return to work toward the end of February, 2020. March Madness was approaching with over 7 major events happening simultaneously in both Philadelphia and Atlantic City, tons of out of pocket expenses in the works, custom work produced, and massive amounts of flowers already in the shop. He was determined to keep the company's dream alive and be a part of all the excitement. But just a little over a week after his return, the world went dark again. The pandemic hit. The events industry collapsed overnight.

Everything they had built — their 40,000-square-foot warehouse filled with inventory fit for the stars, their impressive showroom, their rental home on the bay in Ocean City, NJ where they lived mostly year round for 10 years —all slipped away, piece by piece.

In the middle of that heartbreak, when hope felt impossible and depression was creeping in, a small miracle appeared: a friend in the same struggle lent them a food truck. “Try making vegan burgers,” he said. “Just until events come back.”

But fate had another plan.

While the world waited to reopen, Randy and Krissie found themselves standing in front of a tiny, sun-soaked corner spot in Havertown, PA. It wasn’t part of any grand plan. They had no restaurant experience, no investors, no savings left. What they did have was heart — and a landlord who believed in them.

With the help of generous friends, family, former colleagues, and even competitors, Boardwalk Vegan was born in the fall of 2020 — a dream built not from profit, but from perseverance.

What began as survival became sanctuary.

Boardwalk Vegan isn’t just a restaurant — it’s a love story. It’s the proof that even when life knocks you down, you can build something beautiful from the rubble.

For Randy and Krissie, it became a home again — a place filled with laughter, community, nostalgia, and kindness. A place where every bite tells a story of resilience, gratitude, and joy that hopefully sparks lots of beautiful memories of being on the boardwalk with loved ones throughout our generations.

+ Boardwalk Vegan — born from loss, fueled by love, and lifted by the belief that happiness is still on the menu.

#HaveFunEatHappy