Pepe Hearts Local

Supporting Havelock and Lincoln

If you haven't been to Pepe's Vegetarian Bistro, you may have at least biked with Pepe. Or you have seen southwestern-esque skulls made of bike parts on a friend's wall? Or maybe you have been to "Against the Wall Framing and Gallery," and "Phantom of the Opera" has begun to play from upstairs. Or you have joined the Fan page of Havelock on facebook. Any number of these chance encounters with the owner/operator/chef of Pepe's Vegetarian Bistro has the scent of the handle-bar mustache brand of Pepe Fierro.

I asked Pepe once if he lives in Havelock by his little bistro work space, and he said no, he's a Lincolnite. He had been in Havelock for another reason, saw the space for rent, and just fell in love with it and the rest of Havelock. So he set up shop bringing his Veggie-Mex flavor to vegetarian cuisine.

Pepe's Vegetarian Bistro has seasonal hours, and they are currently Monday through Saturday from 11 - 4, and Sunday, 10 - 2. Yesterday, I stopped in to say hello, and was browsing around the gallery of "Against the Wall." A couple came in and asked if Pepe was there yet. "Oh. Is he open today? I can't remember his hours," I chimed in.

"His hours are 11 to 4 on Saturday," the gentleman said. And the couple began browsing the gallery, too.

A few minutes later, I said, "You know, the Engine House down the street is pretty good breakfast if he doesn't show. My partner and I just came from there. Man, it was really good breakfast."

"Well, we came down here to eat at Pepe's. I don't know if that's considered his competition or not, but we are here for Pepe."

"Oh, that's cool! Actually, I went down to the Engine House Cafe this morning because Pepe suggested it to me once. Ha! Otherwise, I didn't know it was out here. He was just telling me about a bunch of good places around Havelock that he's trying to support." Which is very Pepe. He started a facebook fanpage for Havelock businesses. When we had just eaten at the Engine House, I told the managing waiter that Pepe had suggested it, and he responded, "Pepe is a great guy. He was in here promoting a biking event not long ago. He's quite the cyclist."

The couple browsed to the back of the gallery into "The Wise Oven Bakery" that runs out the back of the space. A gorgeously painted and decorated workspace, the couple bought bread and talked about how many years they have known the owner. And the love of her craft spread contageously from this couple to us. We noticed the antique and kitch furnishings and lovingly and locally-made aprons for sale above a small table. And of course, who wouldn't be inspired by the antique oven itself, marked in cast iron like a bank vault with large cast letters. "W-I-S-E."

While buying some cards made of Nebraska photos, "Phantom of the Opera" music suddenly fell from the rafters of the Gallery. "Oh. Yep. Pepe's here. Let me go tell him he has visitors."

"That's Pepe?" I asked.

"Yep. He's really into Phantom of the Opera lately."

Pepe, no doubt, can appreciate that not only is Havelock a "Buy Fresh Buy Local" strip of locally and family-owned and operated businesses, but the enormous salvage warehouse full of used appliances and furniture also must strike a chord with Pepe's environmental consciousness. There are amazing selections of furnishings and kitchen appliances there for the re-using. A football field's area, to be exact. Times two. There are two floors of used items from a variety of price ranges. When you can't repair the appliances you have, and you don't have the $1,000 to $3,000 for that energy-efficient stackable washer/dryer combo, you can find used versions of Energy Star appliances there.

Besides the "Cosmic Cow" fabric store, the reused clothing store, the locally owned and operated Ace Hardware, the family-owned furniture and shoe store, there is, of course, "The Joyo." A historic theatre by any definition, you may know it for playing "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" every Friday night in October, and of course, doing Halloween night up right by hosting the dress-up, throwing objects at the screen cult experience that only "Rocky Horror" can offer.

If you can appreciate the hand-crafted nature of Pepe's food, please click on his ad on the right side of the page. It will take you to a printable ad that you can pass to friends who enjoy vegetarian cuisine. And if you HAVEN'T been to Pepe's please click and print and take with you as there is a map to find his bistro. Also, post it to facebook, email it to friends, link it to your website to save paper. Pepe would appreciate that effort, too. And with someone who is so supportive of his local business mates, we thought he deserves some positive karma. :)

Are you a supporter of the Buy Fresh Buy Local Movement? What do you think of the Haymarket Arena plans to develop more business in Lincoln? You may enjoy chiming in on the discussion in our Forums started by Matt called "New Lincoln Arena."