Vegan Restaurants Close. Vegans Don't.
[00:00:00] Hey, I recorded this episode on the go without my usual equipment, but I promise future ones will be crispier.
[00:00:10] Hello, my friends,
[00:00:12] Today I wanna chat about vegan restaurants closing. But before we do that, I also want to bring attention to the new name of the podcast!
[00:00:21] So Vegan S'mores it is, and part of the inspiration behind that was I was at Target and saw a vegan s'mores kit. Yes, right next to all of the omnivorous things, and that was really encouraging to me because we are slowly but surely infiltrating the mainstream.
[00:00:41] I had a lot of fun making those s'mores. I put one set in the microwave. I did some in the oven. I air fried one. And I didn't share.
[00:00:50] Okay, so let's chat about vegan restaurants closing. It was about six months or so ago that the [00:01:00] conversation about vegan restaurants closing really amped up. And it seemed like a lot of people were anxious about that, as if it was some sort of indicator that the vegan movement is not working or that it's not taking.
[00:01:15] And that is not how I see it at all. And a- as a former vegan restaurant owner, I think that I have some insight here that might explain why I don't think it's a big deal.
[00:01:27] So first off, running a restaurant is hard. Keeping a restaurant in business is hard. It has nothing to do with whether or not you're serving vegan food. Barbecue restaurants close all the time. It happens. And with the rising cost of food and minimum wage going up, which I do think is a good thing, but it is very tough on low margin businesses like restaurants.
[00:01:53] And people are still expecting to pay the same prices even though grocery prices are going [00:02:00] up and all other associated costs for restaurants are going up. People see that price tag and go, "." And maybe you've done that. And I get it. Prices of things lately are shocking.
[00:02:10] But it's really squeezing restaurants.
[00:02:12] So let's not take it to heart too much that vegan restaurants are closing. They are, after all, restaurants.
[00:02:18] Okay, second thing is vegan or plant-based options, are showing up on a lot of menus at omnivorous restaurants, especially in certain cities where a lot of people are vegan. The doors have been opened to go eat anywhere and everywhere for the most part.
[00:02:37] That's awesome. When we support vegan options at omnivorous restaurants, we show them that demand is there, and we increase the odds that someone who is not vegan will see that yummy thing on the menu and order it.
[00:02:48] So naturally the sad part is that maybe we're not quite as loyal to the vegan restaurants we do have.
[00:02:55] But, let's not take vegan businesses losing [00:03:00] to omnivorous restaurants with vegan options as a 100% negative thing, even though it does really stink for vegan restaurant owners who don't appreciate that, and for the community spaces and the people that come to those community spaces that these vegan restaurant owners have built.
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[00:03:18] Okay, third thing, and this is one that hits really close to home. Sometimes a vegan restaurant owner is just done. It may have nothing to do with the financials or the business coming in or the rent rising or anything like that. They might just go, "Okay, I think I'm good," yay, everyone who's quitting when they're burnt out, or before would be ideal.
[00:03:45] But the point is ... nothing lasts forever... it's super normal for people to switch jobs every few years. So when a vegan restaurant owner decides, "I don't wanna do this job anymore," and they close, [00:04:00] that's wonderful for them.
[00:04:02] Now, I don't wanna breeze over the loss there, because when I closed my restaurant, we were as busy as we'd ever been. But I was tired, and I had stuck with it basically because I loved being a community hub for my vegan friends. All the vegan friends I never even met personally, it was my honor to serve as somewhere for you to come and feel comfortable and appreciated and seen. And when I closed my restaurant, that was the biggest heartache for me along with Feeling like I let down my staff.
[00:04:45] So yeah, it's not easy to close a vegan restaurant. Because it's more than just a restaurant.
[00:04:51] And if you're someone who is mourning the loss of a vegan restaurant and It feels like you now have a hole in your heart. [00:05:00] It's probably partly about the food, yes, but also it's probably a lot about that space that you used to be able to go to.
[00:05:09] Or if, even if you didn't go to it and you ordered takeout, knowing that it was there was comforting to you and encouraging, and it probably represented a community. So if you're struggling now going, "Ah, my favorite spot closed," maybe a way to combat that feeling or build something positive out of it is think about how you can get involved in rebuilding community where that restaurant left a hole.
[00:05:36] Can you start a meetup group? Or hey, not even start a meetup group, just go to a meetup. Find vegans around you and connect.
[00:05:44] Go to events where vegans will be. And if you've got a vegan restaurant around you, let's not take them for granted. You never know when someone is done or when the finances aren't working or when they need [00:06:00] to drop everything and go take care of a sick family member. Things happen.
[00:06:04] So let's just appreciate them while they're here and be grateful to those people that busted their arses and
[00:06:11] dedicated their time and their life force to creating these wonderful spaces for you to enjoy.
[00:06:18] Okay? And also let's keep supporting our vegan restaurant owners that are no longer vegan restaurant owners because probably they're still doing some form of vegan activism or community building in some way. I'm building vegan community in my town, and I've written a vegan cookbook and some other vegan-friendly kids books and I'm even working on a book about how to open a vegan restaurant.
[00:06:42] And I bet all of my friends who had to close their restaurants too for one reason or another are still out there uplifting and building.
[00:06:49] It's just my thoughts and feelings, but I am not swayed at all by the closing of vegan restaurants, and everything comes in waves, and I know that soon we will have another vegan [00:07:00] uprising and a new
[00:07:01] wave of eager, energetic vegan business owners will provide new inspiring spaces and food for us to enjoy. So if you see a new vegan restaurant opening, make sure you go support it.
[00:07:12] They're probably doing it because they care about the animals and the environment and people, and there's probably gonna be a little learning curve, and we just gotta roll with it in the beginning, okay? Let's, let's give our new vegan businesses grace, restaurants or whatever.
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[00:07:29] Okay, okay, that's all
[00:07:30] I'll see you next time. And I just got a sample print of my new kids book called Tofu Goes on Vacation,
[00:07:42] and it's gonna be out September 2nd, and I love it.
[00:07:44] So yeah, you can find info on that on my website at krimdom.com. Okay, for real, that's all. Love you. Bye.
