NORTHAMPTON — Lily Olpindo took a page out of her family’s cookbook when she began serving up dishes at BELA Vegetarian in 1991. Now, after more than three decades of service and crafting a space where patrons found both comfort food and a deep sense of belonging, Olpindo will serve her final dishes as the beloved mainstay closes its doors.
As Olpindo was growing up in the Philippines, her mother always fed those who walked through their door, regardless of how much food was in the pantry or money was in the bank.
“If somebody comes to our house, she’s always feeding the cousins or people that she knows,” she said. “I wanted it to be the same, but in a different scenario.”
Carol Reddy, co-owner of BELA Vegetarian and Olpindo’s partner, said the restaurant has always strived to keep food affordable, even waving the cost for those in need of a hot meal. The restaurant maintained a rolling fundraiser for community-based causes and followed a farm-to-table model, with Olpindo developing dishes based on seasonal produce from local farms.
“It’s a restaurant to create a community, to support a local and global community,” Reddy said. “It’s never been anything but that.”
As a result of their generosity, a loyal following of locals, friends and veggie lovers formed around the restaurant. The four BELA staff, including cooks Po Crest and Paul Mahoney, have come to know their regulars’ names, seen first dates become marriages and watched children grow up.
It’s a community that Olpindo and Reddy will dearly miss.
On Dec. 27, Olpindo will officially retire from cooking, and BELA Vegetarian will serve its last dishes. The building has been sold, though Reddy and Olpindo declined to disclose the purchaser. Reddy may continue her vegan bakery “Carol’s Creations,” without BELA as its brick and mortar, but for now the couple looks forward to some much-needed relaxation.
“I do pretty much everything here from running errands, throwing out the garbage and doing the books after my bookkeeper retired,” Olpindo said. “It’s really hard, and I think it’s time to rest.”
A vegetarian heaven
In honor of BELA’s closing, Reddy provided three journals for customers to leave messages for Olpindo, Paul and Po. Within these books, patrons recall connecting with strangers over meals, couples reminisce about their first dates and anniversaries and longtime vegans remember when the restaurant was one of the few local establishment offering plant-based options.
Jennifer Meara, a regular of the Northampton eatery, said she “hit the jackpot” when she discovered BELA nearly 20 years ago. At the time, Meara and her friends drove from Springfield to Northampton weekly to explore the food scene, but most menus offered few vegan choices. Once they found BELA, the food was so delicious that Meara recalls her friends losing interest in going anywhere else.
“I felt like she really understood what it means to be vegan where a lot of restaurants try to just hit the mark,” Meara said. “I don’t know who else is going to take their place — I don’t think anyone really could.”
BELA Vegetarian was one the first vegetarian restaurants in the Valley. A vegetarian herself, Reddy remembers lamenting to Olpindo about the decadent sauces and side dishes that could be vegetarian if restaurants simply swapped meat for tofu. While Olpindo is not a vegetarian, she decided to apply her Filipino family’s cooking style to Reddy’s vegetarian substitutions.
“My mom would cook very, very simple, but it’s very, very tasty,” Olpindo said. “She’d make this one beef steak (dish). You cut it very, very thin, and then cook it with fried onions, and she would marinate it with citrus and soy sauce. It’s just like a very simple dish, but it is so delicious. And I made that version here with seitan.”
Using a trifecta of tofu, tempeh and seitan, Olpindo prepared almost all of the restaurant’s vegan meats in house. One notable exception is the popular tofu Italian sausage, which is sourced from an outside company. However, Scot Meara — Jennifer’s husband — insists that Olpindo’s preparation remains the meal’s key ingredient.
“I bought the (same) tofu sausage and tried to make it (for myself) and it doesn’t compare to what Lily does,” he said. “She’s really a magician back there.”
Come for the food, stay for the friends
Olpindo is not the only one at BELA concocting beloved dishes. Reddy noted that staff members Crest and Mahoney are just as crucial; they know the regulars as well as anyone.
“I think Po and Paul have created such a community with the customers that they know them by name. The interactions are really phenomenal to witness,” Reddy continued.
In the journals and on social media, many customers describe how a single visit turned into a lifetime of patronage. The BELA staff have seen families begin, grow and eventually start new families. Olpindo said one regular who regularly dined at the restaurant when they were a child recently brought their new partner. Scot and Jennifer Meara even had their first date at BELA and returned for years, drawn by the warm, homelike environment.
“They started off as just wait staff and cooks, and they became friends and family,” Scot said. “Hopefully we can still maintain contact, but I’d miss them if that wasn’t the case.”
“It’s a restaurant to create a community. It’s never been anything but that.”
Carol Reddy, co-owner of BELA Vegetarian
The sense of community at BELA extends far beyond the dishes and those who cook them. As Reddy noted, the restaurant uses food as a vehicle for justice, featuring a cafe-style gallery where local artists display their work. Olpindo regularly donated proceeds from specific dishes to local organizations such as Safe Passage, Tapestry, Grove Street Inn and Riverside Arts. When medical bills for community members skyrocketed following the COVID-19 pandemic, BELA expanded its rotation of donations to support specific individuals in need.
“I think when people write in the book or online, they’re talking about that great feeling of loss, because it’s not just a place they go and get a meal, it’s a real sense of belonging to a community,” Reddy said.
