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California’s plant-based restaurant scene is fading as diners cut back and more vegan restaurants across the state shut their doors.
Here’s what to know
The Golden State’s vegan movement seemed to be gaining momentum with celebrity involvement, fast growth, and packed openings. But SFGATE reported that multiple vegan restaurants across California have closed or announced closures this year.
Comedian and actor Kevin Hart’s Hart House chain abruptly closed in September 2024, foreshadowing a wider downturn in the years to come. The Vegan Joint, a plant-based vegan Thai chain, announced the closure of its three Southern California locations, and Monty’s Good Burger cut its footprint in half. Un Solo Sol in Los Angeles, a vegan Mexican restaurant, said on Instagram its 16-year run will end next Monday.
Carlos Ortez, owner of Un Solo Sol, told SFGATE, “Our industry is vulnerable by the very fact that going to a restaurant should not be a luxury, but it’s now a luxury in these times when everybody has a big drop in their incomes. Their budgets are so tight that they cannot afford going out, to relax, to have a good time with friends.
“It’s even more difficult because the market for veganism is smaller. It’s very specific, not broad like a hamburger. It’s this tiny option compared to that monster option in the middle of a crisis, so it’s impossible that we would not be affected. It’s why vegan restaurants are closing.”
For Ortez, even the rush of farewell customers has not fixed the economics.
“Even with that huge turnout that they’ve shown since the announcement, I still have to retreat at least for a while,” he said. “I do not know if I’m coming back.”
More background
A 2023 Gallup poll put the share of Americans who identify as vegan at just 1%, meaning fully plant-based restaurants are competing for a tiny slice of diners while food and supply costs remain elevated.
SFGATE reported that most food vendors at San Francisco’s plant-forward Saluhall have closed, including Casa Borinqueña.
Oakland’s Millennium came back from a temporary closure with a smaller seating arrangement and a reduced menu. Malibu’s Burgers, also in Oakland, added meat and cheese in January before closing in June. Burgerlords and Sage Vegan Bistro also added meat before closing.
What can be done?
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health professor Kayla de la Haye told SFGATE that labeling alone can push some customers away. “Meat eaters are really turned off by something that looks delicious but is labeled vegan or vegetarian,” she said.
De la Haye’s research found that consumers were far more likely to choose plant-based foods when they were described as “healthy” or “sustainable” rather than “vegan” or “vegetarian.”
She also mentioned weight loss drugs as another hurdle vegan restaurants are facing right now: “Over 10% of the population is on GLP-1s now, and they’re being told to eat more protein with every meal.”
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