Beaver County's first vegan inn opens in Ambridge

AMBRIDGE – Guests stepping into the Epochary Inn will feel transported through time.

Original hardwood floors and the red brick exterior provide a 200-year-old ambiance and elegance for Beaver County's new boutique inn appropriately located in the Ambridge Historic District.

From the dining room's century-old Victrola and phonograph that still spin records, to a clawfoot tub, divan, canopy bed and framed antique artwork in the upstairs chambers, the Epochary Inn stands poised to offer quaintness, relaxation and even romance.

Though the inn's biggest draw could relate to a lifestyle not so readily acknowledged until this current century.

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Owners Elizabeth Herein and William Douglass proudly ensure their inn is a totally vegan establishment. All provided toiletries and meals are 100% vegan.

From dairy-free ice cream to honey-less baklava, and soon-to-come five-course dinner experiences and light lunches, no Epochary Inn foods or beverages will contain animal-derived ingredients.

The meals served there now are exclusively for guests staying in either the Travelers' Chamber (starting at $89 a night) or the Suite Paradiso (starting at $199 nightly).

Though the inn's second phase begins next week, offering a sit-down dining experience, partnered with resident vegan chef Alexandria Kwolek, with even non-guests able to reserve a table with six, four or two seats in the main event area.

"What we're going to do here will be private dinners," said Kwolek, who calls herself "The Indigo Chef" on Instagram and Facebook.

The Epochary Inn will book separate groups totaling up to 12 people per session for five-course, seasonally sourced vegan dinners.

"When you want to come dine we'll book you for that evening," Kwolek said.

Dinner parties of 12 or 16 would need to reserve a room in the Suite Paradiso.

"And then in the summer hours we'll also be offering a small lunch menu with our vegan ice cream," Kwolek said.

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That third phase, targeted before Memorial Day weekend, would feature oat-milk ice cream and a vegan lunch menu ordered in advance and publicized on both Epochary Inn's and The Indigo Chef's social media sites and websites; the theepocharyinn.com and indigoskitchen.com.

"We'll have our vegan healthy wraps ― like grilled sweet potatoes, micro-greens, lemon vinaigrette and roasted turmeric cauliflower or roasted beets," Kwolek, a private chef, in-home dinner party chef and former Carnegie cafe owner with 16 years industry experience, said. "We're going to try to do as much as possible locally sourced and everything's from scratch. So, look forward to tofu made from scratch and vegan cheeses made from scratch. And we're going to have a nice herbal garden outside, too."

Walk-ins would be welcome for the vegan ice cream served in the inn's shop.

That reserved lunch/dinner service would make Epochary Inn the first totally vegan dining establishment in Beaver County, the owners say.

"We're like one of seven to nine 100 percent all-vegan businesses in the Pittsburgh area," Douglass said.

Vegan menu fills a need

Local interest is strong, as anyone who ever attended the special vegan events held occasionally at the former Roots Rochester bar in Rochester will confirm.

"We're filling a big need," Herein said. "Vegans might be a small percentage of people, but there are also vegetarians and people with dairy allergies and egg allergies, and diabetes who are excited about having a healthy option."

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Estimates predict the vegan food market will be worth $65.4 billion by 2030, up from $26.83 billion in 2021, according to Precedence Research, a worldwide market research and consulting organization.

Veganism is one of the fastest growing lifestyles," Diana Edelman, founder of the national vegan dining guide Vegans, Baby, said via an email interview. "While there are different reasons people choose to live a vegan lifestyle ― ethics, the environment or health ― businesses are catching up to the increasing demand. While it may seem daunting to travel as a vegan, more and more businesses are seeing the benefit of catering to this audience."

What makes a place vegan?

When it comes to inns, so much can go into what makes a place vegan, Edelman said.

"From the food and wine to things not everyone thinks about like the toiletries, pillows and blankets, furniture and even rugs and decorations," she said. "Properties that are fully vegan mean that people don't have to worry about compromising in order to enjoy a destination. Typically, a person who is vegan will end up being the decision-maker for where to eat, stay and what to do since their requirements are more specific, which also means that these businesses will be reaching not only vegans but those in their parties as well."

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Epochary Inn touts itself as a vegan destination for events such as boutique micro-weddings with under 25 guests, like the Oct. 30 wedding ceremony there where Ellwood City owners Herein and Douglass got married.

Leading up to the inn's February opening, Douglass focused on the marketing; Herein provided the interior design, appointing each room with eclectic antiques.

Herein formerly had worked at a bed-and-breakfast and had considered the vegan inn concept for a long time.

"We did look at a couple other properties," she said, "but this one picked me. I was looking for a unique property in particular, so when we found the right one, we just knew. Even coming in, I didn't have a solid business plan, but I knew I wanted to put out food, and to be community-involved but the space is what made me say 'OK, well this can be used for that.'"

As soon as the influential VeganPittsburgh.org, a liaison between Pittsburgh business owners and the local vegan community, started publicizing the Epochary Inn, vegan guests began booking rooms there.

"It was like immediate," Douglass said.

"Same day," Herein said.

VeganPittsburgh board member Dylan Nagy said Epochary Inn "is a very unique business. They have a niche and there will be a lot of people showing up there."

Even people traveling to Pittsburgh might opt for the Ambridge inn 17 miles to the northwest.

As a vegan traveler himself, "I don't expect the places I stay to have food for me − maybe I can grab some fruit at the breakfast bar − and I bring my own toiletries," Nagy said. "But if people specifically know a place is completely vegan and they care about that, it will make their eyes pop wide open and want to stay there."

Epochary's planned lunch and dinner service bodes well with changing attitudes, too.

"We're seeing a lot more interest in vegan food from both the consumer and business sides," Nagy said. "Attendance at local events like VegFest and Vegan Expo has been much bigger the last couple years."

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Scott Tady is entertainment/food & dining editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Beaver County's first vegan inn opens in Ambridge