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By: Brendan McDonough

Reporter for North Tonawanda

It’s called the Vegan Grocery Store and business has been brisk. Located at 321 Oliver Street in North Tonawanda the store is owned by Judith Mittiga, her husband Jason Richards and her daughter Gabrielle Richards. They say they opened the store after finding it difficult to buy vegan products in North Tonawanda or having to go to 2 or 3 stores to get what they need. “We were talking one day, and we were like wouldn’t it be nice to just go to once store to get the things we need. My daughter then saw this property and we were like we should open a store,” said Mittiga.

Inside they have everything from beans to an entire freezer section. People come from as far away as Toronto just to shop here and owners say they make it a point to help the customers in any way possible. “We have people from Rochester, Canada, Lockport, they all come. When they come to the area to see family and stuff they come and see us, and they really search us out and we are very happy with the response,” said Mittiga.

When the store first opened they were selling things that they know but soon customers began to make suggestions of what they want and now they are selling perogies from a local vendor. “We also sell balanced body, which is a grab and go, meal if someone wants a healthy lunch and also Mamma Roses is going to be bringing in breads, we are using all local vendors,” said Mattiga.

They are also thinking of bringing in a coffee station with vegan cupcakes and other snacks.

The vegan food is not only delicious, but it also come with other benefits.

Mattiga says there’s a variety of reasons why people might think to start a vegan diet, one might be a compassion for animals or a desire to endorse the health benefits that being vegan can offer, it could include weight loss and a lower chance of getting heart disease or cancer.

Owners say being from North Tonawanda it was import for them to start a business close to home. Mattiga says they own the building and that helps to keep the prices down. They also says they make a special effort to look at other stores prices and keep their prices in line with other grocery stores.

The Vegan Grocery store is open everyday from 9am to 9pm except Sunday when they are open 11am to 7pm.

For more information about the store you can also visit them on line at www.thevegangrocerystore.com