Stew-pendous! Laramie Restaurant’s Vegan Chili Nabs National PETA Award

For Immediate Release:
December 3, 2025

Contact:
Alex Payne 202-483-7382

Stirring up compassion! As temperatures dip and people seek warm comfort foods to get them through the winter, PETA is announcing its picks for the nation’s Souper Vegan Awards—and Laramie’s own Sweet Melissa Caféhas made the list. The meat-free eatery’s mouthwatering 3 Bean Chili features pinto, kidney, and black beans, slow-cooked with onions, tomatoes, green peppers, and corn. The hearty dish is a local favorite that’s been on the menu since the café opened in 1999.

“Sweet Melissa Café has created a delicious chili that’s kind to animals and provides comfort and warmth in each spoonful,” says PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk. “Every winner on PETA’s awards list shows how easy it is to make a soup-erb stew or soup that leaves animals in peace and keeps everyone feeling nicely nourished.”

Cows develop friendships over time, chickens form complex social structures, and pigs show empathy for other pigs who are happy or distressed—but in today’s meat, egg, and dairy industries, the animals are raised in filthy, crowded conditions, trucked to slaughterhouses through all weather extremes, and violently killed. In addition to sparing nearly 200 animals every year, each person who goes vegan also bolsters their own health, as vegans are less likely to suffer from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. PETA’s free vegan starter kit can help those looking to make the switch.

Sweet Melissa Café will receive a framed award certificate from PETA along with bragging rights. Other winners include Half-Peach Bakery & Café in Louisville, Kentucky; Asempe Kitchen in Ithaca, New York; Revolutionary Soup in Charlottesville, Virginia; and Sanaa’s Gourmet Mediterranean in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Sweet Melissa Café is located at 213 S. First St. in Laramie and is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.