A former vegan restaurant chain in Los Angeles is closing its doors.
Sage Regenerative Kitchen & Brewery, formerly known as Sage Vegan Bistro, announced the decision to close all of its Southern California locations in an Instagram post on Wednesday, January 1, sharing that January 5 will be their “last day of service.”
Co-owner Mollie Engelhart shared that last year they made the “difficult decision” to switch from plant-only options to a menu based on “regenerative agriculture” — which would include animal products. However, she found that the change was still unsustainable for the business.
Engelhart — who operated Sage with her husband, chef Elias Sosa, also revealed that they sold their home in an effort to breathe “new life” into the venture, but “we’re in the same predicament today.”
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The initial decision to start serving animal products caused outrage among many in LA’s vegan community at the time.
“So disappointing. It used to be our favorite restaurant,” one person wrote in the comments section of an April Instagram post announcing the change.
“What a bad post, especially on #danzemljana. Nothing says more about protecting the Earth and its inhabitants than profiting from their suffering and exploitation,” wrote another.
While talking to Los Angeles Times at the time, Engelhart shared that her views on the best way to support the Earth through diet had changed over time, and she now believed that veganism was not necessarily the only or best sustainable way forward.
However, she admitted to the publication that she knew she would face criticism from the local vegan community when she made the change.
The restaurant’s chef responded to the vegan protesters by slaughtering a deer leg in front of them
“I understand their passion, I understand their sadness and I understand their anger,” Engelhart told the newspaper. “I had the same view of the world as they did before I changed my ideas based on my experience in agriculture, and I have sympathy for what they feel.”
“I hope that the vegan community and the restorative community can really come together because I think they’re both powerful, powerful pathways for change,” she continued.
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“It’s vulnerable to publicly say, ‘I believed one thing, and maybe I was wrong and now I believe something else,'” she added, “but I hope it inspires people in their lives to be willing to be open when something else it makes more sense”.
Animal rights activists protesting the new menu occupied the Echo Park restaurant location a few months later in June.
“These people came into my restaurant, harassed my customers, my employees, vandalized my restaurant and openly said they wanted to put me out of business,” Engelhart told Fox Digital at the time.
“I believe there are other places they could put their passion,” she said of the protesters. “There are more pressing issues than my restaurant. This is all very disappointing. We are a small family business trying to succeed. California is the hardest place to do business.”
While many vegans in LA are celebrating the news of Sage’s closing, other locals have expressed their sadness at the development.
“This is so sad,” one person wrote on Instagram. “But thank you so much for being such a strong voice for regenerative agriculture.”
“It was a bold move to shift Sage’s focus to regenerative agriculture, and I look forward to seeing how the Sage team continues to fight for a healthier and more just food system,” wrote another.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education