Grilled Cheese Restaurant Owners to Open Vegan Eatery

Answering customer demand for more plant-based fare, James DiSabatino—owner of Allston, MA restaurant Roxy Grilled Cheese—and chef Rebecca Arnold are opening a cheese-free eatery called Whole Heart Provisions. The restaurant will feature “vegetable-centric” dishes appealing to vegans and meat-eaters alike, including build-your-own-bowls where diners can choose broccoli, Japanese eggplant, and various grains and greens as bases as well as customized meals with flavor profiles such as Szechuan (tahini and crispy edamame crumbles). Chef Arnold, who is trained in the art of vegetable cookery, said that “meat seemed superfluous,” adding, “we didn’t need (animal products) to make the delicious food that we wanted to make.” Along with Portland’s famed The Cheese Plate PDX and The Sanctuary at Soledad Goats, this business is the latest to jump on the trend of cheese enthusiasts dropping the dairy and going vegan.