From dailyhive.com/vancouver
This year has not been kind to vegan business owners in Vancouver, and a recent string of restaurant closure announcements has been disheartening for the plant-based community.
While the hurt for Vancouver restaurant owners is not exclusive to vegan businesses, some notable closures have left the vegan community feeling discouraged.
Over the past several weeks, two titans in the Vancouver vegan scene announced that they were closing. Probably the most well-known brand of the bunch is MeeT, which first opened MeeT on Main on Vancouver’s Main Street, before opening MeeT in Yaletown and MeeT in Gastown.
A recent announcement revealed that the Gastown location on Water Street was going to close forever.
“I worked here for 4 years, and it still remains as one of the best jobs I ever had. I met so many amazing people that I still hold dear in my heart! So many good memories of eating vegan food, surrounded by passionate animal lovers and activists. Sad to see it go,” one of MeeT’s followers commented on the restaurant’s Instagram.
Before that, we learned that MILA Plant-Based was also closing, a more upscale Vancouver restaurant, from the same people who brought Virtuous Pie to Chinatown. MILA was considered by many as the best vegan restaurant in the city. One of MILA’s Instagram followers said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if we lose all vegan restaurants and vegan food items in grocery stores by like 2032.. I’m so sad.”
Another follower remarked, “You were the best vegan restaurant Vancouver had to offer.”
On the note of Virtuous Pie, the closures haven’t just been hitting Vancouver, as Virtuous Pie announced it was closing the Victoria location. Beyond just these closures in Vancouver and Victoria, other vegan establishments have shut down across Metro Vancouver.
While things might seem bleak, a notable figure in the vegan community says there are reasons for optimism. Erin Ireland, the powerhouse behind the To Live For brand and the popular To Live For Bakery & Cafe, is dismayed about the closures, like much of the community.
“I’m heartbroken to hear about these iconic restaurants shutting down. While I don’t know their individual situations, I can only speculate that in the cases of MeeT and Virtuous Pie, expanding across multiple locations may have stretched resources too thin,” she said.
Ireland says she hopes that the locations that remain open benefit from an added focus. “With Chef Matt Blandy now as owner-operator of Virtuous Pie Vancouver, we’re going to see some big things ahead,” Ireland said.
With these closures, some of the conversation on social media has suggested that veganism is dying as a trend. This year also brought news of the shutdown of Yves Veggie Cuisine, a popular brand among many in the plant-based community for things like veggie deli meats, hot dogs, sausages, and other products.
“Veganism isn’t a trend — it’s a values-based movement that’s here to stay,” Ireland says.
“Like many positive shifts toward sustainability, such as driving electric vehicles or eating more plant-based, it’s faced pushback from industries with competing interests — especially in the U.S., where lobbyists have spent billions on campaigns to discredit plant-based foods. So while momentum may appear slower, that’s largely due to misinformation, not a loss of interest.”
She adds that the vegan restaurants that have struggled are facing the same struggles as other businesses, like ingredient and labour costs and skyrocketing rents.
“I’ve recently read about several taco spots closing too, but that doesn’t mean tacos are a ‘dying trend.’ The restaurant business is tougher than ever in this city.”
Ireland mentioned that she’s seeing more plant-based options in non-vegan restaurants than she ever has before.
“There’s actually a lot of reason for optimism. While the total number of vegan restaurants has declined over the last five years, the total number of vegan dishes available at Vancouver restaurants has substantially increased — and that’s a huge win. It means plant-based food has moved from being a niche trend to a mainstay in our city.”
She said she sees that as a sign of success, not a sign of a dying trend. Ireland also said that many vegan businesses and restaurants are thriving, including To Live For, which will soon be celebrating its third anniversary and has grown its business every year since opening.
MeeT on Main is another success story. Despite the fact that the Gastown location closed, the Main Street location has been running for over a decade and is a popular spot for non-vegans, too. Acorn, an upscale restaurant also located on Main Street, has also been running for well over a decade.
“While my focus is spotlighting the many amazing plant-based restaurants in this city, I also want to give a shout-out to the talented chefs across Vancouver who ensure the vegan options at their restaurants are every bit as world-class as any dish they put out,” Ireland said.
“Two teams in particular I’d love to highlight are Chef Devon Latte and Chef Lucas Johnston and their team at Nerotondo, and Chef Vish Mayekar and his talented team at Elem — their vegan dishes blew me away recently.”
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-vegan-restaurant-scene-2025
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