When Tanya Shariyf decided for health reasons to change her diet and come a vegetarian, she and husband Abdullah and their six children became frustrated in their search for a restaurant that served vegetarian dishes, let alone good vegetarian dishes.
That compelled this former military dietician and federal police officer and her husband, a youth counselor, to open Jayyid Harvest, one of the few, if any, authentic vegetarian restaurants in the Harrisburg area.
“other than having to go to Philadelphia or New York, there are no vegetarian restaurants around,” said Tanya, a gentle, soft-spoken woman. Before opening the restaurant–its name means “good harvest”–in the corner building at 1530 N. 2nd St., where Flow Buffet and several other restaurants had once served food, Tanya and Abdullah spent time researching vegetarian and vegan foods.
They visited various restaurants in Philadelphia and New York and toured Vegan Treats, a vegetarian bakery in Bethlehem.
“Vegan Treats let us talk to some of their customers and that’s how we got into this,” Tanya said. “Meat-eaters like Vegan Treats, too.”
Realizing that a good vegetarian restaurant could serve dishes that would satisfy even skeptical meat-eaters, Tanya and Abdullah decided, “Ok, we can give it a try. We love to cook for people.”
The menu offers steak and chicken sandwiches made of soy that surprisingly and delightfully taste like steak and chicken. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“This vegetarian restaurant will put a smile on mean-eater’s face,” Tanya said.
A vegetarian couple, traveling from Tallahassee, Fla., to New York was driving on Interstate 81 and found Jayyid Harvest from one of the restaurant apps on their phone.
“This is the best one we’ve found so far,” said Jessica Evans Brady. “It’s awesome.”
“Yup,” agreed her husband, Jason, “It’s really good.”
Since opening in late October, the restaurant has had a growing clientele, many from the Midtown neighborhood. It’s a family-run operation. Tanya’s and Abdullah’s six children-five daughters and one son, their ages range from 8 to 19–help out.
“They’re all learning the business,” Tanya said. “Only my older daughter is cooking and baking.”
Since the restaurant opened, Tanya has been pleased by the reception.
“I want everybody to feel welcome in here,” she said. “That’s our goal: to bring people together with food and bring people back to enjoying the taste of their food.”
Even meat-eaters, who first came warily, are returning for more, Tanya said. “They come in skeptical, but they leave here with the biggest smile on their faces.”
