West Chester Eatery Nabs PETA’s National ‘Vegan Roast Boast’ Award

For Immediate Release:
November 14, 2022

Contact:
Lauren Kent 202-483-7382

West Chester, Pa. – More people than ever are expected to celebrate a meat-free Thanksgiving this year, and local eatery Love Again Local has won a national Vegan Roast Boast Award from PETA for its stuffed holiday roast, ready to serve on a bed of roasted vegetables and with a generous glug of vegan gravy—a succulent solution to 2022’s soaring turkey prices and rampant bird flu outbreaks.

After dreaming about opening a restaurant for more than 20 years, longtime vegan Elena Mascherino—who previously won the Delaware Valley’s culinary heart with her vegan cookie business, Love Chunk Cookies—opened Love Again Local in 2017 as West Chester’s first and only 100% vegan restaurant. The popular eatery specializes in vegan twists on classic deli sandwiches, including Cuban, Italian, and a Jersey-style breakfast sandwich—all made with succulent vegan meats and cheeses crafted in-house.

“Juicy and seasoned to perfection, Love Again Local’s holiday roast is a fantastic centerpiece for any Thanksgiving table,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “This ‘ThanksVegan,’ PETA is celebrating local businesses that make it easy as vegan pumpkin pie to enjoy a bird-friendly feast.”

Not only are vegan roasts free of saturated animal fat and cholesterol, they also spare animals immense suffering: More than 45 million turkeys will be killed for this Thanksgiving alone. In their short lifetimes, they’re forced to stand in their own waste and inhale ammonia-laden air inside dark warehouses. The birds are even genetically manipulated to make them grow unnaturally large, which causes their legs to break beneath them.

The other nine honorees include Green New American Vegetarian in Phoenix & Tempe; The Herbivorous Butcher in Minneapolis; Monk’s Meats in Brooklyn, New York; and Planted Table in Oakland, California. Each eatery will receive a framed certificate from PETA, which offers a “ThanksVegan” guide.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.