When Amy’s Drive Thru first opened in 2015 in Rohnert Park, CA, hundreds of people waited in line for over an hour to sample the food. Finally, there was a fast-food option that came without any meat.
Everything on the menu, from the housemade veggie patties to the burritos and mac and cheese, could be ordered vegan, too. Six years later, things were still looking up. In 2021, Amy’s Drive Thru opened its fourth location and revealed plans for 25 more outposts by 2027.
“We never could have imagined where we would be today with more and more people, especially younger generations, choosing to eat vegetarian and vegan,” CEO Andy Berliner told VegNews at the time.
But like many restaurants right now, Amy’s Drive Thru is having to face a harsher reality.
Amy’s Drive Thru
On March 8, Amy’s Drive Thru closed its last free-standing location, back where it all started in Rohnert Park, for good. At the end of March, it also said goodbye to its location inside San Francisco International Airport, where it opened in 2019.
“The reality is that it’s been an incredibly difficult time for restaurants, and that’s impacted us too,” Amy’s Drive Thru posted on Instagram. “Especially as a restaurant focused solely on vegetarian food.”
“Even after trying everything we could, our Drive Thru was still losing money, and we had to make the hard decision to close. It wasn’t made lightly.”
Amy’s
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Why vegan restaurants are struggling to stay open
Amy’s isn’t alone. The entire industry is being squeezed to its limit by a worsening economic climate, and vegan restaurants are struggling to survive. Nic’s on Beverly, Hart House, and Bloom Plant Based Kitchen are just a few of the jewels of the vegan scene that have been lost. Most recently, Millennium in Oakland, CA announced it was shuttering.
This is not exclusive to the vegan movement. Even fast-food juggernauts like Wendy’s and Pizza Hut are being forced to close hundreds of US restaurants.
Unfortunately, things aren’t looking up. A recent YouGov poll found that nearly 60 percent of Americans think the economy is getting worse.
Hart House
The hospitality industry is paying the price, and vegan restaurants, many of which already rely on a niche clientele, are finding things harder than ever. But still, not all hope is lost.
When we spoke to vegan restaurateur Nemanja Golubovic, founder of Kale My Name, about the wave of Chicago vegan restaurant closures, he expressed his devastation, but also optimism for the future.
“I am still optimistic about the future of vegan dining in Chicago. I do believe the landscape is evolving rather than disappearing,” he said. “The restaurants that survive and thrive will be the ones that adapt, build community, and offer something beyond what people can get everywhere else.”
At Amy’s Drive Thru, though, the final veggie fast-food order has been called.
“From day one, our mission was simple: to serve delicious, organic food that everyone could enjoy,” an Instagram post reads. “As the first organic, vegetarian drive thru in the nation, we’ve shared countless meals, smiles, and memories with you—and that’s something we’ll always be proud of.”
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Charlotte is a VegNews editor and writer based in sunny Southsea on England's southern coast.
