New England Patriots defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. is now 10 percent owner of Veggie Galaxy, the Central Square, Cambridge, seller of vegetarian diner and comfort food.
The ownership group also includes Veggie Galaxy founders Adam Penn and Michael Bissanti, founder of Boston’s The Paramount Diner and Cambridge’s Four Burgers as well as serving as Veggie Galaxy’s general manager from 2016 to 2019.
The summer buy-in by the former Super Bowl champion – a vegan – was announced Thursday by a publicist working with the ownership group. Deatrich’s investment represents his share of working capital rather than a specific initiative or plan for growth by the group, the publicist said. The investment will be used as as part of the company’s minimum working capital balance.
Veggie Galaxy was founded in 2011 and sells all-vegetarian food that can be made vegan despite also being traditional fare such as burgers, BLTs and mac and cheese, with nearly every item made in-house. In 2019, Guy Fieri visited to film a segment for his television series “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” saying: “People need to have this in their town.”
“As a professional athlete, it’s hard to ignore the trend toward healthy living in this country, including the explosion of vegetarian and vegan food in the last several years,” Wise said, explaining his investment. “To have the opportunity to work with a company with which I share the same core beliefs and values makes this more than just a business opportunity for me. I’m also very excited to play a role in helping to make plant-based food more accessible to a wider audience.”
Wise’s adoption of veganism is lore, beginning in college when he cut red meat and pork from his diet. After his rookie NFL season, he decided he was done with all meat and made a bet with skeptical team nutritionists and teammates: If he showed any deficiencies in muscle mass and lost any strength, he would at least go back to eating eggs. “He hasn’t cracked an egg since,” according to the Thursday press release.
“More than five years later, I’m reaping the benefits of going 100 percent dietary vegan, including improved athletic ability, higher energy levels, quicker recovery times, better sleep and fewer injuries,” Wise said.
Penn said Wise had “been a great customer, and will no doubt be a great partner.”
This post took significant amounts of material from a press release.
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