Mall food will never be the same once Almost Vegan opens on the second floor of the Lehigh Valley Mall, at 250 Lehigh Valley Mall in Whitehall, near Cinnabon in Subway’s former location. Husband and wife Anthony and Nadia Alexander, owners of the vegan and pescatarian café, say upgrades to their new location should be completed for a January or February opening. The Alexanders opened Almost Vegan in July at 627. W. Liberty St. in Allentown, the former space of Yocco’s The Hot Dog King, which had been in business for 82 years. Anthony Alexander says he is thrilled to open up in the mall’s larger space and offer healthy dining options to shoppers.
“I think it will bring a lot more foot traffic to our business,” Alexander told What Now Philadelphia. “This would be a main location, and I think it could bring a lot of health and wealth to the community.”
Everything on Almost Vegan’s menu is vegan except for the wild-caught seafood dishes, which are still dairy and soy-free. At Almost Vegan, you won’t be left with just a pile of boring lettuce. Their food is anything but bland and includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner items like Wild Blueberry Pancakes with plant sausage and chickpea scramble, a soy and gluten-free Vegan Pizza, and Teriyaki Grilled Shrimp Kabob salad. Almost Vegan will also offer vegan desserts like Apple Caramel Cheese Cake and Vanilla Walnut Cake, as well as smoothies like their Juneteenth smoothie with mango, key lime, banana, coconut milk, and agave or Lehigh ValleyBlissh with goji berries, bananas, blueberries, agave, and coconut water.
“Going vegan is a great way to get the nutrition you need while avoiding unhealthy ultra-processed food. However, shifting from a meat-heavy diet to a fully vegan one can be difficult,” Almost Vegan’s website says. “We started this business because we saw that a growing number of people wanted to eat healthier, but they didn’t have many food options. By serving tasty and nutritious vegan and pescatarian dishes, we help our customers maintain a healthy diet. Our café aims to serve people who want to stop eating meat and start eating fish.”
Almost Vegan will serve customer favorites at their new location, like their Fish Tacos or their Almost Wing Platter, fried oyster mushrooms that are likened to chicken wings and served with two sides such as jerk mac and cheese, steamed kale, a wild rice blend, or butternut squash. But they also plan to add more ready-to-go and finger food items like vegan egg rolls and empanadas. Almost Vegan’s Allentown location will remain open until they move into the mall. Check out their menu on at almostvegancafe.com.
