Maris Ayin - Vegan Restaurant

QUESTION: There is a vegan restaurant in my community, but it does not have hashgacha. Someone told me that you can go in and order a coffee and roll because these are made on dedicated equipment, and nothing can go wrong. Is one permitted to do so?

ANSWER: No. Rolls may contain non-kosher oils, stabilizers and emulsifiers. Though unlikely, coffee may be made on non-kosher equipment. Even if the kosher status of the coffee and rolls was verified, entering an uncertified vegan restaurant which sells kosher and non-kosher products may appear suspicious to an onlooker. Igros Moshe (OC II:40) writes that entering a non-kosher restaurant, even if your intent is to purchase kosher foods, is a violation of maris ayin. The potential for causing others to sin is even greater regarding entering a non-certified vegan restaurant. The observer may assume that all the foods in this vegan restaurant are kosher, and not realize that the consumer’s interest was limited to one or two kosher items. As such, frequenting a vegan restaurant can be even more serious than entering a non-kosher restaurant whose non-kosher status is well known and clear to all.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.