Suburban Restaurant Move That Redefined Philadelphia Vegan Dining
In February 2006, a decisive shift occurred in Philadelphia’s culinary landscape when Horizons, a plant-based restaurant helmed by Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby, relocated from the suburb of Willow Grove to the Queen Village neighborhood. This move is retrospectively viewed as the catalyst for the city’s modern vegan revolution, transitioning meatless cuisine from niche health food counters to the realm of serious gastronomy. Before Horizons arrived on South 7th Street, the local perception of vegan dining was largely defined by stereotypes of bland tofu and sprouts, with few options available outside of casual cafes or Chinese vegetarian spots. Landau and Jacoby challenged this status quo by introducing complex cooking techniques—smoking, curing, and searing vegetables—that rivaled traditional steakhouses in flavor and presentation.
However, labeling this transition as a flawless victory for plant-based dining oversimplifies the economic realities of the industry. While Horizons successfully paved the way for the globally acclaimed Vedge, the path was not without volatility; the original Philadelphia location of Horizons eventually closed in 2011 to allow the owners to recalibrate their business model. Critics of the “fine dining vegan” movement also note that while this revolution elevated the cuisine’s prestige, it simultaneously introduced higher price points that made plant-based eating less accessible to the average resident compared to the grassroots movements of the past. Furthermore, despite the media acclaim surrounding Philadelphia’s vegan scene, the sector remains vulnerable to the same rising operational costs and labor shortages plaguing the broader hospitality industry, forcing many subsequent plant-based ventures to shutter. Nevertheless, the 2006 migration of Horizons remains the undeniable inflection point that proved vegetables could anchor a center-plate experience in a major American city.
