As a vegan for the past 7 years, I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing the incredible growth of the plant-based movement. What used to be a fringe lifestyle has exploded into the mainstream, with more and more people reducing their consumption of animal products for ethical, environmental and health reasons. Read below about “Why Are So Many Vegan Restaurants Shutting Down?”.
One marker of this growth has been the opening of all kinds of specialty vegan establishments from bakeries to clothing stores to of course, restaurants. Vegan restaurants used to be few and far between, limited to bigger cities like New York and Los Angeles. But over the last decade, vegan restaurants seemed to be popping up in every neighborhood of every town.
That’s why I was surprised and disappointed when I recently learned that many of these vegan establishments are starting to close their doors.
Table of Contents
Why Are So Many Vegan Restaurants Shutting Down?
As an ethical vegan, I want the movement to continue growing. So why are so many vegan restaurants struggling to stay open?
Niche Appeal
One major reason is that vegan restaurants have an inherently niche appeal. While interest in plant-based eating is rising, vegetarians and vegans still make up only 5-6% of the US population. That leaves over 90% of diners looking for meat, dairy or egg options when dining out.
Most omnivores enjoy vegan food every once in a while, but they’re not looking for completely animal-free meals every time they go to a restaurant. So for vegan establishments, their potential customer base is limited exclusively to that small percentage of strict plant-based eaters.
It can be hard for vegan restaurants, especially in smaller towns, to get enough foot traffic and regular business when the majority of residents eat meat. A few times, I’ve been so excited to check out a new vegan place in my city, only to find it almost empty inside. It always pains me to see that – I know first-hand how hard restaurant owners work.
Location, Location, Location
Tied to the niche appeal issue is a vegan restaurant’s location. From my experience living in both small towns and bigger cities, the places that thrive are located in higher-density urban areas where the vegan population is simply larger.
In my little hometown of 25,000 people, a completely vegan restaurant would have almost no chance. But in the city center of somewhere like Los Angeles, with its endless streams of foot traffic, it could likely flourish.
However, commercial rents are often astronomical in popular metro neighborhoods. I’ve spoken with some vegan business owners who said pricey leases ended up sinking their restaurants. One small cafe owner even admitted he paid 70% of his revenue toward rent alone!
When you combine the higher rents of sought-after urban retail spaces with the limited customer base issue, it’s not hard to see why location plays such a huge role in whether vegan establishments succeed or fail.
Running a Food Business is Hard
Here’s another reality – restaurants constantly close, no matter their cuisine. The restaurant industry has notoriously thin profit margins. Some reports show up to 60% of new restaurants close within their first year. Within three years, that number jumps to 80%.
The stats are grim for the food business across the board. As a home cook who loves throwing dinner parties for friends, I daydream about opening my own chic vegan bistro one day. But from my conversations with people in the industry, I’ve realized running any kind of restaurant requires near-superhuman levels of passion, work ethic, business savvy and luck.
With vegan restaurants, there are added complexities like sourcing special ingredients, managing extra food prep and inventory tracking to avoid cross-contamination for customers with allergies.
I have so much respect for those in this business. They take on the risks and workload because they love feeding people amazing plant-based meals. But at the end of the day, passion isn’t enough to single-handedly defeat the underlying difficulties of running a food establishment.
Failure to Evolve
Finally, I’ve noticed some plant-based spots cling too tightly to rigid vegan stereotypes – and end up limiting their appeal as a result. For years, veganism was associated with bland, ascetic eating bordering on self-punishment. But modern vegan cuisine has evolved well beyond the early hippie-era health food tropes.
Today’s plant-based dishes are creative, colorful and bursting with flavors. However, some vegan restaurants don’t showcase the incredible breadth and depth of contemporary vegan fare. Their menu feels stuck in the past – focused on worthy but dull ingredients like wheatgrass shots, tempeh and kale smoothies.
On the flip side, I’ve seen long-time vegans complain certain restaurants have strayed too far into mock meat territory. With convincing plant-based meats that “bleed” like beef and chicken, these spots can alienate customers seeking more vegetable-driven options.
So while innovation is good, restaurants still need to know their customers. The vegan diners of 2022 have high expectations – they want healthy, ethical food that also delivers on taste, quality and overall experience. Places that don’t evolve past outdated stereotypes or pay attention to diner preferences struggle to build an audience.
The Future Still Looks Bright
While the challenges are real, I remain hopeful about the future of vegan dining. Some restaurants have found success with strategies like crowd-funding campaigns to secure startup funding or opening for brunch/dinner only to optimize labor costs.
And specialized vegan food trucks and pop-ups are gaining steam – they offer lower risk ways for entrepreneurs to test out their concepts before launching a full-blown restaurant.
From city mainstays like By Chloe in New York and Cafe Gratitude in Los Angeles to small town gems like the Upton Vegan Bakery near me, there are still wonderful vegan establishments thriving all over North America.
As a movement, we need to support them with our dollars and voices. When we rally around beloved institutions, we make it easier for them to overcome the unique difficulties facing vegan restaurants today.
Our collective efforts do make an impact – just look at the soaring sales numbers for plant-based milks, cheeses, meat and egg alternatives. Our purchasing power and word-of-mouth promotion works!
Conclusion
So seek out your local vegan spots. Leave glowing online reviews. Tell your friends about their yummy dishes. And most importantly, keep showing up! That kind of community backing lets these special places know we want them to stick around.
I believe that as more people discover how delicious ethical eating can be, the restaurant landscape will continue shifting. Maybe one day, neighborhoods across the country will be filled with vibrant vegan establishments packed to capacity every night. I hope you like reading “Why Are So Many Vegan Restaurants Shutting Down?”.
That’s my hope at least! And I’ll be doing my part to support vegan businesses – one tasty plant-based meal at a time.