Located on a charming corner of Old City, Philadelphia, the American Vegan Center (AVC) is a hub of vegan information. The welcome room is a small shop with books, T-shirts, Philly-specific vegan souvenirs and food from vegan entrepreneurs. The center’s event room hosts presentations by chefs, doctors, scholars, authors and others. Casual events include open mic night and mini vegan food demos with samplings.

The AVC, which opened in 2021, has a life-sized cow plush figure to greet its visitors. From there, walking tours showcase Philly’s rich vegetarian and vegan heritage. The standard 76-minute tour of Old City—recounting (and illustrating) how Philadelphia launched the vegetarian and vegan movements in the United States—is led by Vance Lehmkuhl, who is a walking vegan encyclopedia.

The city where the U.S. vegetarian movement was launched in 1817, and where the modern vegan movement began in 1957, today is home to a vibrant vegan food scene, from nationally acclaimed fine dining to amazing vegan burgers and donuts. AVC strives to be a significant and useful milestone within Philly’s vegan community.

Location: 17 N. Second St., opposite the old Christ Church. For more information, visit AmericanVegan.org.