PEORIA MAGAZINE January 2023

Riley Greenwood prepares some cinnamon rolls in her Riley’s Vegan Sweets and Eats shop

R iley Greenwood keeps evolving, personally and professionally. There’s a direct line that connects the dots between her teenage retail job, her later work in animal welfare and her current proprietorship of Riley’s Vegan Sweets & Eats. The shop is one of just two vegan outlets in Peoria, and the only business in town named to the Illinois Office of Tourism’s 2022 Illinois Made Holiday Gift Guide. For her, the move to veganismmakes sense, as a career as well as a lifestyle. “I’m happier now,” said Greenwood, 31. “I’m healthier now, my mental state is a lot more clear and I just can’t ever imagine going back to how things were.” While attending Peoria High School, Greenwood worked part-time for two

D I S H A N D D R I N K

MAKING ‘TASTY’ SYNONYMOUS WITH ‘HEALTHY’ Vegan isn’t just salad anymore, but cupcakes, pizza and even turkey at Riley’s Sweets & Eats

BY PHIL LUCIANO PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON

12 JANUARY 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE