Although I grew up in New York, I visited the Lehigh Valley and Lancaster areas of Pennsylvania all the time. We had family there and often took vacations to Amish Country, so the area holds a lot of memories for me. After going vegan in the mid-90s, though, it held a little less allure, but we decided to go back after more than 20 years, and were excited to discover a surprisingly robust vegan restaurant scene and a community that is actively supporting it.
Bethlehem and Allentown
Our flight got in around lunchtime, so it was perfect timing for our first stop to be VegOut Bethlehem, an all-vegan restaurant we had tried to visit a few years ago but couldn’t because it was temporarily closed while owner Mary Lopresti dealt with health issues. VegOut started as a pop-up in 2018 before moving into its current downtown Bethlehem location in 2019. It’s a charming corner spot with a menu that is pure comfort food, offering everything from loaded pierogies and salads to burgers, shakes and a stocked cooler of to-go items, snacks and sweets.
Their inventive creations would satisfy anyone, vegan or not, and we had to try the weekly special, a French onion soup burger that was really more of a patty melt but on garlic bread Texas toast. It was so outstanding that I’m creating an homage version of it with my own retro slider recipe soon. We also had a chocolate tahini shake made with soft serve using the pea-protein-based Eclipse mix, and it was exceptional. Another favorite was Mary’s hoagie salad, which I not had before and absolutely loved. It was chock full of vegan deli meats and cheese with a creamy Italian dressing. I highly recommend it. Don’t sleep on their award winning vegan mac and cheese either.
We had such a great conversation about veganism with Mary, too, as we share a lot of the same perspectives on making vegan food more accessible to others. It’s often the gateway to the larger cause that encompasses the other ethics involved. I loved her spirit and her mission, and how she somehow still finds the time to send me things she spots in stores locally. I know how much commitment it takes to run a business like this, so I’m in awe of what she’s created. I also know the vegan community has rallied around her because everyone was messaging me that VegOut was a “must visit” when I said we’d be in the area. It’s a true gem.
I got an Instagram message while in Pennsylvania from someone who runs a vegan donut business called Circle Donuts. I looked them up and, since I’ll never turn down a vegan donut, we planned to meet up at VegOut. Brad Hogarth and his wife Kelsey run the business and they had made donuts for a local wedding (how cool is that?!) and had some leftovers, which prompted him to reach out, and we ended up having a great time chatting. Funnily enough, there were a lot of parallels in our lives as we’re all designers, musicians, vegans and runners. I asked him to write up some history about how Circle Donuts came to be, so here’s what he said:
About 15 years ago, I got an idea to have a donut shop someday. It never really materialized, just a nice little pipe dream that I would talk about every now and then. Fast forward to 2019, my now wife got me a deep fryer and a plan to finally try our hand at making donuts. So just before Covid, we gave it a shot! Over the course of a few months we have dialed in our recipe, flavors and expanded our fanbase pretty wide! We started doing pop-ups at VegOut in Bethlehem (basically owe our success and huge outreach to Mary) and grew quickly from there. Every time we make donuts we learn something new, and continue to grow. Truly a labor of love that we someday hope to develop into an actual storefront someday.
Hopefully they’ll get that storefront soon, because everyone should get to experience these donuts.
We became aware of Vegan Treats, the award-winning 100% vegan bakery, in the late 90s, not too long after they started bringing their cakes to New York City wholesale to be sold at restaurants, cafes and smaller grocers. Their peanut butter bombe cake is their quintessential dessert in my opinion, but they have a huge, menu featuring artistic custom cakes, gourmet donuts, cookies, brownies, cheesecakes, artisanal chocolates and soft serve in often unusual flavor combinations. It wasn’t until the late 2000s that we actually visited their storefront, and I remember there being so many choices that it was difficult in the best possible way. This time we took two bombe cakes home with us, and they mostly made it back in one piece, although airport security did check them. Apparently two giant vegan cakes in your carry-on are worth a second look.
This was the one place I was messaged about most by followers, and it was already on our list, which says a lot about how well loved it is in the local community. When we visited, it was across the river from VegOut and we got there for an early dinner. I’m glad we did because there was a long line forming before we left. They make everything from scratch, including their cashew cheese, seitan wings, pepperoni, dough and sauce, and certain days they sell slices and we were lucky we visited on one of those days.
We got a pepperoni slice, the wings and their mozzarella sticks, and all were excellent. We should have gotten a garlic knot, but we were quite full. The table next to us ordered a single knot which prompted Mrs. BBV (Kim) to start up a conversation. We chatted for a bit about their vegan journey and how this place in particular was a favorite of theirs that they try to get to at least once a week. They told us about Paranormal overcoming a fire at their old establishment and weathering Covid, which must have been difficult. Seeing this place thriving was encouraging, especially at a time when so many vegan businesses are shuttering.
Reading, PA
We stayed the night in Reading as it was halfway between Allentown and Lancaster and found an all-vegan Chinese restaurant called Chen Vegetarian House. They told us they’d been there about 13 years and make mostly everything from scratch. We had hot and sour and wonton soup, Malaysian pancakes with a curry dipping sauce and their breaded chicken on sugar cane skewers. All were really good and worth a visit if you’re passing through.
Lancaster County, PA
We made our way into Lancaster and our first stop was what we always called “the sleepy town of Lititz,” home to Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery, America’s first commercial pretzel bakery. We’d been a few times before, having first gone more than 35 years ago, and it hasn’t changed much from what we recall. The soft pretzels are vegan since they don’t use butter, and they were $2 when we visited. I think they were $1 back in the day, so that’s not too bad of a price increase considering how long it’s been. We got three, plus I grabbed a jar of their pepper mustard. They also offer a tour, which we’d taken before, but it’s worth doing if you haven’t.
Dutch Haven sits on Route 30, the Lincoln Highway, in Ronks and is easily spotted by its bright yellow windmill roof. It began in the 1920s as a gas station with an ice cream stand, and Roy and Alice Weaver bought the property in 1946 and opened a Pennsylvania Dutch restaurant with a gift shop. It’s billed as Lancaster’s first Amish tourist attraction, and the windmill design was meant as a nod to the “Dutch” in Pennsylvania Dutch. The sit-down restaurant eventually closed and the business became focused on shoofly pie and an Amish crafts and gift shop before briefly closing and reopening in 2024. I remember going there years ago specifically for their shoofly pie, so I was curious to see if I could still get one.
If you don’t know, shoofly pie is an Amish molasses crumb pie dating back to the late 1800s. It’s one of my favorites, and Dutch Haven makes the wet-bottom style but there’s also a dry-bottom version. They told me they don’t use eggs, dairy or lard in their crust, making it vegan friendly, and they sell them by the pie or slice. They even offered me a sample first. There was also a chocolate version available, but they thought the chips contained dairy, so I didn’t want to take a chance. If you’ve been curious about shoofly pie, this was the only place I found it without eggs. I’m developing a recipe for my own this holiday season, so you’ll be able to make it and try it for yourself soon.
Bad Garden Kitchen is located in downtown Lancaster near Franklin & Marshall College and opened in 2024 as a fast-casual concept serving 100% plant-based food. We had their wings and onion rings and asked them to coat the wings in a mix of BBQ and buffalo sauce, which they hadn’t heard of before but gladly did for us. It’s our favorite combination, and they said they made their wings with Impossible chicken. Their ranch was also very good, although I’m not sure if it’s made in-house. They have a large menu and vegan soft serve using Eclipse pea protein mix as well so definitely keep on your list to visit if in the area.
Lancaster Vegan opened in May 2026 at 306 N. Mulberry St., taking over the former Flora’s restaurant space. Owners Tom Valentine and Ian Guyette both cooked at Root, Lancaster’s beloved all-vegan restaurant that closed in December 2024, and built this as its next chapter. We ordered the avocado Reuben, a nod to one of Root’s most requested sandwiches, and it was tangy, satisfying and clearly made from scratch. We got the dressing on the side as Mrs. BBV isn’t usually a fan of creamy dressings and they gladly accommodated this request. We would have ordered more but we were on a bit of a grazing tour and wanted to save room for other things. If you’re in Lancaster County craving plant-based food with a cool, arty vibe, this is the stop.
Nikki’s Custard on Oregon Pike was hands down the best vegan soft serve of our whole trip. This family-run shop opened in 2023 after Nicole Dannehl and her family moved to Lancaster from Milwaukee, and the business was built around bringing their love of frozen custard to the area. They offer rotating non-dairy soft serve along with traditional dairy custard, so it works well for families with both vegans and dairy eaters. The soft serve we had was creamy, rich and nothing like the icy vegan versions you sometimes find. If you’re passing through Lancaster County and need a sweet stop that actually gets vegan ice cream right, put this one on your list.
Rachel’s Cafe & Creperie was founded in 2006 by Rachel Adams in downtown Lancaster and has grown into a local institution known for fresh, made-to-order savory and sweet crepes. While the menu isn’t exclusively vegan, the cafe has lots of options, offering vegan swaps like whipped cream and ice cream substitutions, dedicated vegan crepe nights and fully plant-based versions of popular items.
Their vegan Impossible burger crepe, which we tried, was loaded with plant-based mozzarella, Impossible burger, bacon, tomato, pickled onion and house-made BBQ aioli. Even better, a portion of sales supports Lancaster Farm Sanctuary and its project to create a two-story mural of Jude, the sanctuary’s beloved rescued cow. We were actually served by Rachel and had a really nice chat about her business and veganism. She even sent over an oatmilk chai for us to try which was so sweet of her. It’s a great option for breakfast and we really enjoyed the vibe and food.
Lancaster Central Market traces back to 1730, when local farmers first got permission to sell goods on a public plot in the middle of the newly laid-out town, making it the oldest continuously operating public market in the country. We wandered through and picked up canned goods like chow chow and jams to bring home from an Amish stand, always a highlight of the market, but the real surprise was how many vegan options were tucked throughout. At Inna’s Pierogi, we grabbed a box of golden, pan-seared vegan pierogi loaded with caramelized onions, a comforting nod to the market’s Eastern European roots. We also saw them sold in the freezer section at Stauffer’s of Kissel Hill a local supermarket in Lititz.
Then at Seoulmates, we couldn’t resist a Korean donut, twisted, sugar-dusted and completely plant-based. It was a surprise to see a vegan Korean donut inside this market but owner Rebekah Walls told us she makes it with aquafaba instead of eggs and no dairy and it was everything you want a donut to be.
More Than Just the Food
I expected to have some great food on this trip, but what surprised me most was the sense of community around supporting vegan and plant-based spaces. After seeing so many vegan businesses close recently across the country, it was genuinely encouraging to see the support these have in this region. Almost every stop had a story behind it with longtime owners who lit up talking about their food, and a real sense of pride in what they were serving. We kept running into people who genuinely cared, who wanted to make sure we left happy and full, and who were proud to offer something vegan even in places rooted in old-world tradition. The vibe was warm, unpretentious and full of genuine hospitality, and that ended up being what I remembered most about the trip.
I went back to Pennsylvania expecting to revisit some old memories and eat some good food, but I didn’t expect to come away feeling hopeful about the vegan scene in general. From Bethlehem through Reading and Lancaster County, there’s a real sense that plant-based food has found a place in this region and that the people behind it are determined to keep building it. Visiting in the fall would be highly recommended for cooler weather, autumn foliage and great seasonal vegan eats.
Kreg Sterns is the founder of Big Box Vegan, a national plant-based grocery content platform covering vegan finds, product news, and store-level reporting at major retailers since 2018. He is the 2026 VegNews Veggie Award winner for Favorite Vegan Instagrammer and has been featured by NPR, VegNews, and The Kitchn.
