A formerly vegan restaurant chain in Los Angeles is closing its doors.
Sage Regenerative Kitchen & Brewery, previously known as Sage Vegan Bistro, announced the decision to close all of its Southern California locations in an Instagram post on Wednesday, Jan. 1, sharing that Jan. 5 would be its “final day of service.”
Co-owner Mollie Engelhart shared that they made the “difficult decision” last year to transition from plant-based only options to a menu based on “regenerative agriculture” — which would include animal-based products. However, she revealed 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 endeavor, but “we find ourselves in the same predicament today.”
The initial decision to begin serving animal products caused outrage among many in the L.A. vegan community at the time.
“So disappointing. Used to be our favorite restaurant,” one person wrote in the comments section of the April Instagram post announcing the change.
“What a bummer announcement, especially on #earthday. Nothing says protect the earth and its inhabitants like profiting off their suffering and exploitation,” wrote another.
While speaking to The 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 wasn’t necessarily the only or best sustainable path forward.
However, she admitted to the outlet that she knew she would be opening herself up to criticism from the local vegan community when she made the shift.
“I understand their passion and I understand their sadness and I understand their anger,” Engelhart told the outlet. “I had the same views of the world that they did before I shifted my ideas based on my experience in farming, and I have compassion for what they’re feeling.”
“I hope that the vegan community and the regenerative 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 that it inspires people in their own lives to be willing to be open-minded when something else makes more sense to you.”
Animal rights activists protesting the new menu mobbed the restaurant’s Echo Park location several months later in June.
“These people came inside of my restaurant, harassed my customers, my employees, vandalized my restaurant and openly said they’d like to put me out of business,” Engelhart told Fox Digital at the time.
“I believe that there’s other places that they could put their passion,” she said of the protestors. “There are more pressing issues than my restaurant. This is all very disappointing. We are a small family business trying to make it. California is the hardest place to do business.”
While a number of L.A. vegans are celebrating the news of Sage’s closure, other locals have voiced their sadness over the development.
“This is so sad,” one person wrote on Instagram. “But thank you so much for being such a powerful voice for regenerative agriculture.”
“It was a courageous move to shift Sage’s focus to regenerative agriculture and I look forward to see how the Sage team will continue fighting for a healthier & more just food system,” wrote another.
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