Former Vegan Restaurant That Added Meat To Its Menu Announces Closure

A former vegan restaurant in Los Angeles that started serving meat and dairy in April 2024 amid financial struggles has now closed its doors for good.

Sage Regenerative Kitchen & Brewery, formerly Sage Plant Based Bistro & Brewery, announced the closure in an Instagram post. It said that despite its pivot away from vegan food, it remained “in the same predicament today” and would have to close.

Sage chef Mollie Englehart explained to Business Insider in 2024 why she had decided to move away from serving solely plant-based food. Adding ‘regenerative’ meat, dairy, and eggs to the menu started to feel like a “more scalable path forward that is better for the animals,” she said. “I want to give meat-eaters an opportunity to purchase meat at a restaurant that comes from cleaner, healthier, better sources. That doesn’t really exist right now, and I feel like that is a wide-open space for me to move into.”

The addition of animal products from “regenerative agriculture” to the menu sparked a backlash from vegan customers. Regenerative agriculture is often billed as environmentally sustainable, but this claim has been refuted by many experts. Meat is also a product of animal exploitation and slaughter, meaning it’s unacceptable for animal rights advocates. Protesters entered the restaurant on Father’s Day in 2024, holding signs with slogans such as “Meat is Murder,” prompting Englehart to close for the day. Many Instagram users replied to Sage’s closure announcement with celebratory comments, claiming it as a victory for animals.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sage Regenerative Kitchen & Brewery (@thekindsage)

Mixed success for vegan eateries

Rising costs and increased competition have forced a number of restaurants, including vegan eateries, to close in the past couple of years. Hart House, Kevin Hart‘s vegan fast food chain, closed all four of its Los Angeles locations in September 2024. Half of Lewis Hamilton‘s Neat Burger locations in the UK closed in 2023. Most recently, Ed Winters‘ London restaurant Unity Diner has announced it is closing in February due to the challenging conditions in the hospitality sector.

But other vegan eateries are thriving. US fast food chain Slutty Vegan is continuing to expand, with a dozen locations across the US. In 2024, Next Level Burger said it had became one of the world’s biggest plant-based restaurant companies after acquiring vegan fast food chain Veggie Grill. The acquisition meant Next Level Burger almost tripled its US locations from 10 to 27.

Meanwhile, several vegan restaurants have recently won awards. These include the UK’s Twelve Eatery winning a Gold Tourism Award, and vegan food truck Planet G winning the Scottish Street Food Award.