Restaurant owner aims to ‘fill the void of healthy food options’: Trailblazers & Trendsetters

For a second year, PennLive marks Black History Month by recognizing “trailblazers and trendsetters”: leaders and advocates in central Pa. working to uplift their communities through their work, businesses, arts, ministries and mentorships.

In the coming weeks, we’ll publish more than 35 profiles of doctors, nurses, gardeners, ministers, educators, entrepreneurs, athletes, philanthropists, restauranteurs, authors, actors and others. They were nominated by readers and, for the most part, are people who have rarely been in the spotlight. More people were nominated than we were able to include; we’ll keep the names of those people for future profiles.

We hope you enjoy reading about these trailblazers. If you missed last year’s, you can find links to them here.

Lhayana Dallas

Community: Harrisburg

Age: 35

Her story: Dallas owns Honeybush Raw Smoothie bar, providing health-conscious, organic smoothies using raw ingredients. It operated at the Broad Street Market but following last summer’s fire, Dallas is relocating the shop this year to 23 S. Third St. in Harrisburg’s SoMa district, south of Market Street near Found Collab vintage thrift and artisan boutique and UPMC Health Sciences Tower at Harrisburg University.

At age 11, she started track and field and advanced in high school to district and state championship titles. At the University of Connecticut, she was a student-athlete. She continued her fitness journey after college with weight training and fitness modeling, which she shared on her social media accounts and drew a fan base.

“Along the way I realized I didn’t have the best eating habits, despite being in the best physical shape of my life. In 2013 I became a pescatarian and eventually plant-based vegan in 2019,” Dallas said.

Honeybush Raw Smoothie bar opened in 2020 as what Dallas said is a reflection of her lifestyle and plant-based vegan journey.

In her words: “I want to inspire my family and community to take control of their health even if it starts with one smoothie a day. My hopes are Honeybush will help fill the void of healthy food options in Harrisburg.

“My inspiration and motivation has always been rooted in my commitment to holistic health practices, conscious consumption, and my goal of inspiring a plant-based lifestyle. After the July 10th fire at the Broad Street Market, I’ve been more motivated and eager to rebuild and continue sharing my passion with my community.”