2 days Ago
Sage Regenerative Kitchen, formerly known as Sage Plant Bistro & Brewery, is closing its remaining Southern California locations in Echo Park and Pasadena on January 5, 2025. The sudden closure marks the end of a 14-year run for Sage, which opened its first location in Echo Park in 2011 and grew into one of Southern California’s most notable plant-based restaurants. “I’m just incredibly grateful to have been able to serve the LA community for so long,” says Mollie Engelhart, who operates the restaurant with her husband Elias Sosa.
According to Engelhart, Sage has been struggling for some time. In late 2023, the business was behind on rent and taxes; in early 2024, Engelhart and Sosa decided to close the Agoura location and the cloud kitchen in Culver City to consolidate the restaurant’s customer base. The pair also sold their California home to infuse the restaurant with more money.
Looking for a way to make the business more sustainable, Engelhart and Sosa decided to add regenerative animal products to the menu for the first time in May 2024. “I thought maybe we could merge these two things, my restaurants and my passion for regenerative agriculture, and come to some new pathway,” Engelhart says. The backlash to the shift from animal rights groups and vegan diners was swift, with Sage’s Yelp page targeted with one-star reviews and protests staged outside of the Echo Park and Pasadena locations .
The addition of regenerative animal products to the menu and the widespread coverage of the changes didn’t result in new customers coming to the restaurant, and in late 2024, Engelhart and Sosa faced dire financial challenges again. “Now we just find ourselves in the exact same position, deep in debt and unable to make payroll, bouncing checks to vendors,” Engelhart says. Engelhart calls the closure a “sad victory” for the vegans who protested the transition away from being entirely plant-based.
Sage announced its impending closure in an Instagram post on January 1. The post’s comments section below has become a sharply divided discussion between diners mourning the loss of the restaurant and others celebrating its closure after it added meat to the menu. “I think that Sage closing is a reflection of how disconnected we are from our food systems,” Engelhart says, calling it a “sad victory” for the vegans who protested the transition away from being entirely plant-based.
“What will come into Sage that’s going to be better for the animals, better for the farmers, and better for the community than I was?” Engelhart asks. For now, Engelhart and Sosa have turned their attention to their regenerative farm in Texas and the restaurant they run there, the Barn at Sovereignty Ranch . Still, she hopes that her work at Sage will continue to impact dining culture.
“I hope that customers choose farmers, choose local, and choose the highest quality ingredients,” Engelhart says. Sage’s struggles as a vegan restaurant and its shift away from being plant-based reflect Los Angeles’s changing vegan and vegetarian scene. In 2024, popular plant-based pizza spot Hot Tongue added animal products to its menu for the first time, while Shojin in Downtown and Nic’s on Beverly in Beverly Grove closed .
Cafe Gratitude, a prominent chain of vegan restaurants owned by Engelhart’s father, has also shuttered locations in recent years . Sign up for our newsletter. Check your inbox for a welcome email.
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