Founder Spotlight: Sarah Tarantino of Tarantino’s Plant Based
Meet Sarah Tarantino
Yelp ranked Tarantino’s Plant Based number 10 on its 2024 list of the top 100 vegan restaurants in the US, a climb from number 46 on the same list two years earlier. The Las Vegas restaurant opened in 2020 and serves Italian classics built entirely from plants, down to the meats and cheeses the kitchen makes fresh in house every day without seed oils. That is a lot of engineering for a plate of lasagna.
Company:
Tarantino’s Plant Based
Tarantino’s Plant Based is a family-run Las Vegas restaurant bringing traditional Italian comfort food into the plant-based era with a 100% vegan menu, extensive gluten-free options, and a deeply community-centered approach to hospitality. Since opening in 2020, Tarantino’s has grown into a nationally recognized brand, including being named one of Yelp’s Top 10 Vegan Restaurants in the U.S., with an expanding vision across restaurants, retail products, and future franchising.
Location:
Las Vegas, NV
When did you launch the business?
February 2020
Startup Stage?
Bootstrapped
How did this business start?
Tarantino’s Plant Based began with a personal transformation in how I viewed food, health, and compassionate living. After adopting a plant-based lifestyle and experiencing meaningful changes in my own well-being, that passion grew into a larger mission: to create a restaurant where traditional Italian comfort food could be reimagined in a fully plant-based way without sacrificing flavor, warmth, or hospitality. With the support of my late father, I opened Tarantino’s in Las Vegas in February 2020 and built the business around exceptional food, community, compassion, and the belief that every guest should feel like family.
What’s one thing you’re proudest of so far?
I’m proudest of the community we’ve built around Tarantino’s Plant Based. We’ve created a restaurant where the majority of our team is vegan, including our entire front-of-house staff, which is incredibly meaningful to me because everyone is genuinely connected to the mission. Beyond the restaurant, we stay deeply involved in the local community through events, partnerships, animal-welfare causes, and plant-based education. Seeing Tarantino’s become a place where people feel welcomed, cared for, and connected to something bigger than a meal is probably what means the most to me.
What’s been the most surprising or challenging part of building this business?
One of the most challenging parts has been learning how to build and grow a business while also raising a family and navigating circumstances I never could have planned for. We opened Tarantino’s in February 2020, just weeks before the pandemic changed everything, so from the beginning I had to learn how to adapt, lead, and keep moving forward in real time. I did not come from a traditional business or restaurant background, so much of this journey has been about learning as I go, surrounding myself with the right people, and trusting that the heart and purpose behind the brand would carry us through the difficult seasons. Looking back, I’m proud that we not only survived, but built something stronger, more profitable, and more connected to the community along the way.
What do you bring to this community, and what are you hoping to find?
I bring the perspective of a plant-based founder who has built a mission-driven restaurant from the ground up while staying deeply connected to the vegan community. I’m always happy to share what I’ve learned about compassionate hospitality, community-building, creating a strong values-led culture, and helping make plant-based food feel welcoming and accessible to a broader audience.
What I’m hoping to find here is connection with other vegan founders, operators, advisors, and investors who understand both the mission and the realities of building and scaling a plant-based business. As Tarantino’s Plant Based prepares for its next stage of growth, I’d love to learn from others who have navigated expansion, franchising, retail, fundraising, and building the right team without losing the heart of the brand.
What’s something people would be surprised to learn about you?
People are often surprised to learn that I never set out to become a restaurant owner and had no formal background in business or culinary arts. My path began with a documentary that inspired me to go plant-based that very same day, and what started as a personal health and compassion journey ultimately led me to build a nationally recognized vegan restaurant in Las Vegas.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I’m incredibly grateful for the community that has grown around Tarantino’s Plant Based and for the opportunity to connect with others who share a commitment to compassionate living and a more plant-based future. As we look toward our next chapter, I’m especially interested in building genuine relationships with people who believe in the mission, understand the challenges of scaling values-led businesses, and want to help create more impact together.
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