TUCSON, Ariz. — Rachelle Dalton has worked at Lovin' Spoonfuls since January and she thoroughly enjoys her job.

After observing Dalton for a few minutes, she greets the first man to walk in with a smile and sense of nostalgia. She has seen him before. After taking his order, she hands him a big wooden spoon to place on his table until his order is ready.

Dalton has been a vegan, meaning she does not consume any animal products, for a year and a half now.

“After coming here from Garland (a Tucson-based restaurant that is mostly vegetarian), the opportunity presented itself for me to work at Lovin’ Spoonfuls (which is completely vegan)," she said, "and I jumped on it."

Dalton said aside from the repeat customers and walk-ins, the restaurant gets a lot of customers who are “out-of-towners” and have heard about Lovin' Spoonfuls and want to try it.

“They are usually thoroughly impressed," Dalton said.

This kind of customer satisfaction is music to owner Peggy Raisglid’s ears. Lovin’ Spoonfuls, located at 2990 N. Campbell Ave., has been open since September 2005 when Raisglid wanted to promote the Vegan lifestyle by opening up a restaurant.

“I thought there was a definite need for a vegan restaurant in Tucson,” Raisglid said.

For Raisglid, becoming a vegetarian 18 years ago was an ethical issue. Raisglid said she believes there is a lot of animal cruelty involved that people do not realize.

Customers have either become aware of these issues or simply enjoy the selection of food at Lovin’ Spoonfuls. The vegan-only restaurant has done surprisingly well according to Raisglid.

“We broke even in our first year when it normally takes new businesses five or six," she said.

Raisglid’s most loyal customers come anywhere from once a week to once or twice a day.

“I have had a number of customers that have come to me after eating at Lovin’ Spoonfuls and said that they became vegan when they realized they could still eat what they want," Raisglid said.

That is easy to believe when they have dishes like Raisglid’s all-time favorite and most popular, the bacon cheeseburger. Raisglid admits that she had it every day for the first year Lovin’ Spoonfuls was open.

“I like the bacon cheeseburger during the day, but at night I like the linguine with meatballs," Raisglid said.

Prices range on the lunch menu from $5.75 to $7.95.

Raisglid’s ethical issues with animal products have stemmed partially from her observations about farm life today. After taking a trip across country, Raisglid noticed the country was paved with farmland.

She said there is now only 2 percent natural land left while the other 98 percent is for farms and feeding animals.

Raisglid said she believes people contribute to waste the most by eating meat.

“It takes 10 pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat because the animal needs to eat the 10 pounds of grain for energy and then release it as waste before they finally produce one pound of meat," Raisglid said.

As a result, the process of producing meat wastes 10 times as much energy.

Raisglid also pointed out how many waste products come off the farm. She said she believes a lot of it is getting in water supplies and causing contamination.

“As far as the amount of water, what you need to run a factory farm is astronomical," she said. "There is nothing that an individual can do better than to not eat meat”.

Raisglid usually purchases locally from Ron’s Produce. The items that can not be found locally are based out of California from a company called United Natural.

Though being vegan is certaintly not a qualification to work at Lovin’ Spoonfuls, many employees are and others have naturally begun to follow in the vegan direction after working there for a while.

“I am showing people you can have a delicious meal without animal products," Raisglid said.

Special Of The Day BBQ Chicken Sandwich: Mock Southern Fried Chicken and BBQ sauce with green leaf lettuce, fresh tomatoes, dill pickle chips and vegan mayo on an organic whole wheat bun, served with your choice of coleslaw, potato salad or carrot salad. $7.95 — Lovin' Spoonfuls

First time customer, Taryn Maggi agreed. Maggi, an avid meat eater was skeptical before trying this Lovin’ Spoonfuls, but is no longer going to hesitate before trying vegan food.

“I had the special of the day — the BBQ chicken sandwich — and it was absolutely delicious," Maggi said. “I knew it wasn’t chicken but could barely tell. I would definitely come back here."

Raisglid hopes to inspire people like Maggi to come back to Lovin' Spoonfuls and enjoy the variety of vegan foods without harming animals or their body.

“You don’t have to be vegan to enjoy the food because it is still delicious and absolutely healthier," Maggi said.