Beloved vegan restaurant chain The Vegan Joint is closing all three of its Los Angeles locations.
Owner Rattana Hnoi opened The Vegan Joint in 2006, with the aim of providing Angelenos with Thai-inspired, plant-based comfort food. Over the next two decades, Hnoi expanded the business to three locations—Woodland Hills, West LA, and Downtown LA—and built a loyal following.
Diners across Los Angeles have come to love the chain’s signature dishes, including Kra Pow Burgers, Red Curry Tacos, and Impossible Nachos. But love isn’t enough. Hnoi announced on August 13 that she would be closing the Woodland Hills location due to mounting debts and rising rent. “Since Covid, I have been even worse in debt than I could ever imagine,” she posted on Facebook. “But this is the journey I choose, so I keep going until now.”
At the time, Hnoi revealed she had taken out a loan to keep the other two restaurants afloat. However, she later explained in a video posted to social media that the loan was “too big for me to handle” amid the current economic climate. As a result, all three restaurants are now set to close at the end of this month.
Speaking to VegNews, Hnoi said she feels a “sense of relief financially,” but she also feels a great sense of sadness over the closures. “The Vegan Joint is a treasure to me,” she said. “I put my life into it, so it’s difficult to let it go.”
The Vegan Joint
Is there a next chapter for The Vegan Joint?
Many fans are devastated by the news of the closure. “This is deeply saddening,” wrote one Facebook user on a post about the closure in the group Vegan Los Angeles. “My boys and I have been eating there since they were born. My respects to Hnoi. She had something amazing.”
Another added: “This is so terribly sad! This might have been the first vegan restaurant I ever went to.”
Others are calling for people to help. Content creator Seth on the Scene reposted Hnoi’s video to his Instagram account, urging anyone with “deep pockets” or “connections” to step in.
Struggling vegan restaurants have been saved before. In New York, popular vegan restaurant Caravan of Dreams was on the brink of closing its doors amid mounting debts, but a feature on the platform Humans of New York helped raise nearly $175,000 in 48 hours.
However, Hnoi says, realistically, it’s too late for The Vegan Joint. “Financial support would be the most helpful right now as we close out and make sure all of our staff are paid,” she said, adding that she’s “grateful” to all of the restaurant’s loyal customers and friends over the years.
Rtanna Hnoi
But while the restaurants are closing, Hnoi isn’t giving up. The founder added that she is still looking for new ways to share The Vegan Joint’s legacy with the world.
“I am pivoting and finding ways to keep our recipes alive,” she said. “I look forward to selling some of our top-selling sauces and doing pop-ups around the city if we can get the support needed to get started.”
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Charlotte is a VegNews editor and writer based in sunny Southsea on England's southern coast.
