Celebrating a Veggie Bar Mitzvah

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

A special day is on the horizon for Cody Elkins. The 12-year-old is looking forward to sharing his favorite vegan food restaurant with all his friends and family when he celebrates his upcoming bar mitzvah in late October at Veggie Grill in Westwood.

A seventh-grader at Paul Revere Charter Middle School, Elkins is planning the bar mitzvah details with the growing restaurant chain’s Vice President Scott Nicholson and Regional Operator Jake Hall, who will help the youngster make sure his bar mitzvah is a huge success for 100 guests.

Elkins, who was born into a vegetarian family and has been a vegan for almost his entire life, will be serving his Veggie Grill favorites to his friends and family.

Elkins has two older brothers Dane (18) and Jaden (16) and a younger sister Madison (10), all of whom are vegans as well. Dane, one of the top-ranked racquetball players in the world in his age group, graduated from Palisades Charter High School in June and won the  Palisadian-Post Cup Award as the school’s outstanding senior athlete. Jaden also had a private vegan bar mitzvah at Veggie Grill in Westwood three years ago.

Elkins’ bar mitzvah theme is giving speeches to the community about saving the planet with a plant-based diet. His first speech at Paul Revere was a huge success as he prepared props and presented many facts to his classmates, encouraging them to see what he eats on his Instagram page.

Elkins is also a rising racquetball star who has twice been named Athlete of the Week in the Post. His lucky 100 guests will be in for a treat next month. There will be a custom menu to choose from with “Veggie’s Greatest Hits” and the chefs just may bring back the chocolate pudding special for his event. Entertainment will be provided by magician Paul Fegen, known as “The Fantastic Fig,” who made it all the way to Las Vegas on the popular TV show “America’s Got Talent.”

Watch Elkins’ speech on YouTube by searching cody elkins youtube bar mitzvah.