Edible Food Finds: Rhythm ‘N Wraps

Rhythm ’N Wraps is rooted, not surprisingly, in both music and food. Owners Aaron Cohen, Sophia Cohen, Niles Cohen (all related) and Justin Springer plus Manager/Chef Oko Williams share a deep appreciation for both. Pairing music and food in a way that brings happiness and the feeling of belonging to their customers motivates the group and its staff daily. That’s clear right when you step into their vibrant, cheerful space. As Justin notes minutes after we meet, “We’re a family here and are in a community of support. We want people to feel that they’re in our home, and feel love and joy and want to dance.”

After several years as a popular food truck serving mainly the Cambridge area, the business opened a brick-and-mortar store in 2018, steps away from Boston University’s Commonwealth Avenue campus. They serve vegan comfort food that intentionally appeals equally to non-vegans. Options include phenomenal fried oyster mushrooms, an award-winning “chick’n” sandwich, grilled macaroni and cheese, a TLT club sandwich made with smoked tempeh, many loaded vegan burgers and wraps as well as lots of flavorful hand-crafted juices and smoothies. Justin proudly states that although their customer base started off as mostly vegans, before long non-vegans from around the state and even other states started coming in regularly, often planning their weekends around a visit to Rhythm ’N Wraps.

Community engagement is a common theme for the business. Before COVID-19 hit, this included hosting concerts, sponsoring live music events and participating in food festivals. Buoyed by lots of delivery orders, they mostly stayed open during the pandemic. They also deepened their roots in the area, focusing primarily on communities with little access to healthy foods and even using some of their coronavirus grants and relief funds to invest in those communities. Justin notes, “During the pandemic we raised funds with Elevate Boston Foundation to deliver healthy meals to families in need, along with tag-teaming with Black Boston COVID-19 Coalition to provide meals to Boston residents who received vaccination at the Reggie Lewis Center. With other collaborations with Commonwealth Kitchen and Urban Farming Institute we were able to engage all neighborhoods in Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury.”

The future looks very bright for Rhythm ’N Wraps. One idea they’re considering is a podcast and companion YouTube show focusing on honest and interesting conversations related to healthy living and eating well. They also hope to expand to more neighborhoods and get more food trucks on the road. Bottling their hot sauce and selling it and their popular Rhythm Punch outside the store may be on the horizon, along with hosting cooking classes.

“One of our goals is to bring healthy options into communities that don’t have many,” Justin notes. We want to be successful, but what we really want to do is change people’s minds on what to eat. We want to take this far and be bigger than just serving food.”

Rhythm ’N Wraps is located at 1096 Commonwealth Ave. in Allston.
rhythmnwraps.com

This story appeared in the Fall 2021 issue.