Veltree Nabs Spot on PETA’s List of Top Vegan Soul Food Joints

Group Celebrates the Restaurant for Dishing Up the Best Krab Cakes and Fried Chic’n in the Whole Country

For Immediate Release:
June 26, 2020

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

As restaurants welcome diners back after coronavirus shutdowns, PETA is highlighting some of the Top Vegan Soul Food Restaurants across the country—and Veltree has secured a spot on the list.

Owned and operated by chef Velvet Jacobs (aka “Chef Vel”) and her wife, Tre’ona Kelty-Jacobs (aka “Tree”), the eatery offers a rotating menu that has featured hits like “It’s Not Popeye’s” Chik’n, Shrimp Po’ Boy Subs, drumsticks (in Buffalo or Sweet Heat sauce), Mac n Cheeze, and more. Chef Vel has received rave reviews from vegan influencers such as Tabitha Brown and A-list celebrities, including Erykah Badu, Lamman Rucker, and Common.

“Whether you’re in the mood for unique and super-tasty items or you just fancy an old favorite like chicken and waffles, Veltree has a vegan dish for you,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “All the restaurants on PETA’s list are satisfying diners’ hunger for soul food that’s as delicious as it is kind to animals.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—notes that going vegan is a social justice issue. Vegan restaurants help keep some communities from being stranded in food deserts, which contribute to higher rates of strokes, heart disease, and diabetes—all conditions that going vegan can help prevent. And each person who goes vegan combats speciesism, the archaic belief that other animals are inherently inferior to humans and that it’s acceptable to exploit them. Vegans also have a smaller carbon footprint than meat-eaters do.

The other honorees are Souley Vegan in Oakland, California; Oh Vegan Soul in Boise, Idaho; Drop Squad Kitchen in Wilmington, Delaware; and Trio Plant-Based in Minneapolis.

For more information, please visit PETA.org or click here.