Austin Pizzeria Goes Vegan Because “Vegetarianism Is Obsolete”

Austin, TX-based food truck Li’l Nonna’s Pizzeria recently transformed its menu to be fully vegan. Li’l Nonna’s now offers pizzas using house-made vegan meat and cheese toppings such as beet-based pepperoni, seitan sweet Italian sausage, smoky tempeh bacon crumbles, dairy-free mozzarella, and almond ricotta. Its menu features gluten-free and wheat-based pizzas such as the Piña Jalapeño (pineapple, pickled jalapeños, roasted garlic, tomato sauce, and vegan mozzarella); the Meat Out (Beeteroni, Italian seitan sausage, smoky tempeh, tomato sauce, and vegan mozzarella); and the Verde Bianco Rosso (herbed extra virgin olive oil, cherry tomatoes, roasted garlic, vegan mozzarella, baby arugula, lemon, and balsamic glaze). Pizzeria owner Robbie Lordi believes removing animal products from his menu was the next logical step for business, both ethically and financially. “Vegetarianism is obsolete,” Lordi told VegNews. “There is no such thing as ethical vegetarianism, and I say this as someone who was vegetarian for over 20 years before finally going fully vegan a couple years ago. People do not go vegetarian anymore. People go vegan.” Lordi proved the all-vegan concept was viable by removing dairy from the menu for one month prior to doing so permanently. “It was a huge success, and it’s the best decision we’ve ever made,” Lordi said. “We’ve been told by quite a few customers that good pizza was the last thing standing in the way of transitioning to full vegan diets.” Lordi hopes to expand to a brick-and-mortar location by 2020, and expand the menu with pasta, subs, appetizers, and brunch options.