The now world-famous Moosewood Restaurant, known for vegetarian food and cookbooks, is celebrating an impressive 35 years in operation.

Located in Ithaca, New York, the restaurant places huge emphasis on natural, organic foods. Moosewood is a collectively run enterprise consisting of nineteen members who own and operate Moosewood Restaurant and write cookbooks. Most of the group have worked together for more than 20 years and say that “when all is said and done, Moosewood is a hard place to leave.”

In the 1970s when the restaurant opened, vegetarian fare was considered unusual and patrons were given questioning looks when requesting a vegetarian dish at most restaurants. Moosewood provided a haven for vegetarian diners with options aplenty and non-judgemental service. To celebrate its 35th birthday the restaurant is having a throw back to yesteryear with classic fudge brownies returning to the menu at the same price they were in 1973 when the restaurant opened, 25 cents.

The collective has released nine cookbooks and has expanded into merchandise and a line of ready-to-eat take home foods such as soups. With a new venture at Annabel Taylor Hall in Cornell, Moosewood is continuing to expand and the collective has high hopes to open more restaurants in other US states. This appears to be one veg-stalwart with no plans to slow down.