Doron Petersan, the owner of nearly 20-year-old vegan bakery and cafe Sticky Fingers, doubled the availability of her sugary seasonal cupcakes and walnut-studded sticky buns in the District last summer when she opened Fare Well. The Atlas District diner/bar/bakery has since gotten attention from visiting celebrities, including actress Edie Falco, and high-profile politicos. Petersan says New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker gave her a big hug when they first met.

Now, in honor of Fare Wells first anniversary, Eater checks in with Petersan about growing her empire (she just unveiled a new enclosed backyard patio on H Street), cultivating regulars with dessert, and figuring things out on the fly.

What has the first year been like?

Doron Petersan: Its always terrifying opening a restaurant, right? But we didnt really know exactly how people were gonna respond to not only a vegan concept, but also the combination diner/bakery/bar is not one that you see everyday. People walk by and they see the bakery case and theyre like, Oh youre a bakery! And then they see the bar and theyre like, Wait a minute, youre not just a bakery. Its interesting to see how people perceive it.

What have been your most popular menu items?

DP: Burger, pancakes, and pierogies have been our top sellers. And then our burrata. I mean where else can you get vegan burrata? And our desserts are really strong. I like that cake is our strong point.

With [the new] Whole Foods and so many of the condos and apartment buildings going up, weve had so much more foot traffic. People see the cases and they walk in and they grab a cookie. And theyre like, Wait its vegan? How do you do it? Then I hand them a cookbook and they buy it. Sometimes they come back the next day because they dont want to make it cause bakings hard (laughs).

Youre still operating Sticky Fingers in Columbia Heights. What has it been like to balance the two?

DP: I was [in my early twenties] when I started and I didnt know what I was doing. It took me a long time to figure out but also I didnt really have a plan other than to create a really strong bakery. Expansion and growth isnt only about a second store. I can make decisions left and right and come up with ideas all day long, but its really giving people what they want. We definitely want to grow and expand, we just want to figure out the best way to go about it.

Whats on deck for next year?

DP: Were definitely going to be working on catering in some capacity; moving from bakery-cafe into full-service bakery/diner/bar. We have a years worth of numbers behind us and well work off of that. But the goal is always to feed the masses and to make sure that theres delicious food.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Read more:

Vegan Baker Doron Petersan's Still Got It After 20 Years - Eater DC