For nearly two decades, Chef Babette Davis has encouraged the people of Inglewood to try the food she loves. “If you don’t want meat, try the stuff I eat,” reads the tagline at the top of the menu at her aptly named restaurant, Stuff I Eat. And that “stuff” is nourishing, plant-based fare made with whole-food ingredients that diners have been savoring for years.
But fans of the 75-year-old chef’s food don’t have much time left to enjoy it at her restaurant—April 26 will be Stuff I Eat’s final day.
“Stuff I Eat has never just been a restaurant, never just a restaurant. It’s been a community. It’s been healing. It’s been love on a plate. Trust that,” Davis said in a statement, posted to Stuff I Eat’s social media pages.
“Every hug, every conversation, every smile across the counter. I carry all of that love in my heart. I truly do,” she continued.
Davis hasn’t confirmed exactly what’s coming next, but she isn’t leaving her loyal fans empty-handed. Stuff I Eat has launched a limited-edition “closing collection” clothing line in its final months, featuring T-shirts, hats, sweaters, hoodies, and pants emblazoned with the restaurant’s logo and slogans.
“It’s gratitude, and it’s honoring what we’ve all built together,” explained Davis. “Our sustainable print-on-demand merchandise is available on our website. It’s made to order, so there’s no waste. When you wear it, you’re not just wearing merch, you’re wearing community.”
The ongoing struggle of vegan restaurants across the US
While Davis hasn’t shared exact reasons behind Stuff I Eat’s closure (but has revealed that while Stuff I Eat is leaving Inglewood, there will be “more future offerings” down the line), the restaurant is far from alone. Establishments across the country are struggling, and several notable meatless restaurants have recently shuttered, including Dreamboat and Vulture in San Diego, Red Bamboo and Third Kingdom in New York, and the final location of Amy’s Drive Thru in San Francisco.
For many, it’s a perfect storm of high rents, rising food costs, supply chain challenges, and declining customer spending as households tighten their wallets amid the ongoing affordability crisis.
Speaking on a highly publicized recent wave of closures in Chicago, Nemanja Golubovic, founder of vegan restaurant Kale My Name, told VegNews that growing competition from mainstream chains is another factor.
ScottCline / HappyCow
“Vegan options are now widely accessible,” Golubovic said. “That accessibility is a win for animals and the movement, but it also means that choosing a fully vegan restaurant has shifted from being a necessity to more of a conscious experience—or even a luxury—for many diners.”
Still, some restaurants are opting to evolve rather than close for good. The team at [Bloom Plant-Based Kitchen], for example, has confirmed that a new chapter is on the horizon. Davis, too, remains optimistic. “April 26 may mark the end of our physical space, but not our spirit,” she said. “Definitely not our spirit. This is not goodbye—it’s a transition.”
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Charlotte is a VegNews editor and writer based in sunny Southsea on England's southern coast.
