what a sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad fucking day. it looks like the awesome vegan spot on sunset has finally called it quits. after much speculation and a totally strange ad hawking the business on craigslist of all places, the vegan spot has silently and calmly closed its doors…leaving hungry unsuspecting herbivores like me totally fucked on a friday night. (we are so used to grabbing vegan spot take-out!)
maybe i should have seen it coming. the last 3 times we tried to get take-out, they were closed. first, it was “due to renovations,” unbeknownst to me. next, a few days later, it was closed “due to the holidays.” now, it’s just closed due to being fucking closed. for days, the phone has been ringing through to an answering machine. for criminy’s sake, even yelpers have started to notice.
i drove by for myself and the place was boarded up. the lights were off. the phone rang straight to a fax machine. those chef salads and cheesey sandwiches that i dream about were nowhere to be found. ugh.
the vegan spot as of 9pm pst, 12/05/08. R.I.P. we miss ya already.
i guess the vegan spot has been in dire straights for quite some time. ever since they threw the biz up for sale on craigslist, their stability has been totally suspect. maybe this market proved to be just as unkind to the plant-eaters as it was to everyone else…and the vegan spot had to eventually shut its doors. what can i say, rent on on sunset surely ain’t cheap.
let’s reminisce a bit, eh? i will show you some of the stuff i last ate there….so you can feel as bad as me.
vegan reuben: tangy blend of corned beef, tofu cheese, sauerkraut, thousand island and soy mozzarella on a warm toasted bun. $9.95
this sandwich was bloody awesome. greasy condiments, meaty soyness and sweet sauerkraut made for the perfect combo. i only got to eat it once, and i still can’t get it out of my head. god, this sandwich was killer.
bbq tempeh sandwich: sloppy joe tempeh and soy mozzarella on a sandwich roll. $8.95
the deceased bbq tempeh sandwich was also a winner. slathered in fake melty cheese, tangy bbq sauce, and stacked with protein…it gave all other vegan bbq sandwiches in los angeles a run for their money.
i will miss the fuck out of you, vegan spot.
what sucks most is, i should have seen it coming. the vegan spot started to tank right at the announcement of its sale. the chef salad went down hill, and some dishes started showing up totally jacked. for instance, the chicken rice bowl:
chicken rice bowl: brown rice, chicken strips, tomato, onion, spinach and lemon with a side of tamari. $7.95
the description above sounds alright, huh? yeah, but my bowl came with no onion, no spinach, no tomatoes and no lemon. instead…it came with a fat serving of bell peppers, cucumbers and uncooked cashews for some reason. this dish was totally inedible. i’m sad to say this was actually my last time eating at the vegan spot, my old favorite restaurant. i tried to give them another chance tonight, but they were closed for the 4th time in a row.
oh fucking well. at least pure luck survived their accident. they give me hope for vegan restaurants in los angeles.
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11:02 pm on December 5th, 2008
a very sad day. I was so looking forward to my chef’s salad.
11:50 pm on December 5th, 2008
NO! its a rarity that a vegan “spot” fails, usually they are expanding and opening new locations Veggie Grill, Native Foods, RFD, Vegan Thai empires! I just think the location / parking / seating were the downfall here (just like Jax). The food had many home runs. Maybe I should start post on vegan-la about “Areas needing Vegan Food” I mean look at how under served Venice was and now we have 3 vegan restaurants in 2 months pop up out of nowhere! Seed / J’s / Casa DeTree (Casa is almost Venice) Montana Ave in Santa Monica needs a Vegan Spot bad, but the rent is crazy there.
3:06 am on December 6th, 2008
Sooooo sad
6:11 am on December 6th, 2008
Aw, I’ m so sorry to hear that.
10:25 am on December 6th, 2008
Bummer! I wonder where my buddy Greg (one of the cooks) is going to work now…
12:42 pm on December 6th, 2008
*GASP* NOOOOOOOO!!!!!
The Vegan Spot is….er,was….my very most favorite vegan eatery (though I only ever got stuff “to go”) in the entire universe! I loved their food something fierce and life just won’t be nearly as yummy now that it’s gone.
I’m seriously sad. To the core.
12:50 pm on December 6th, 2008
Um, why would you accept a dish which is totally inedible and not what you ordered?
I know some people like to avoid conflict, but you can’t let people (or restaurants) walk all over you. Show some spine. Complain, get a replacement, or it will just happen to someone else.
4:26 pm on December 6th, 2008
lex: so true, dude. so fucking true.
hippiechick: me too, that place was one of a kind.
ben: didn’t realize until i got home that the order was screwed up.
and I live like half an hour away and was too lazy to drive it back. i would have complained for sure if I was eating there!
5:43 pm on December 6th, 2008
Those photos look like barf.
7:41 pm on December 6th, 2008
rathbone: no need to worry, they are out of biz anyway!
8:51 pm on December 6th, 2008
OH, NO, I NEVER GOT TO TRY THE FOOD! It was part of my plan for this week. So sad.
9:48 pm on December 6th, 2008
Thanks for the heads up! Hubby & I were planning to try it today since we were going to be in the Hollywood area. He said he was surprised there weren’t a couple of vegans holding a vigil outside. lol.
12:13 pm on December 8th, 2008
Do not fear fellow vegans! I talked to a waiter at Flore and he said the owners are turning the space into a vegan coffee shop, complete with twinkies and small bites. There is a little more info here:
http://yosoyblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/dont-have-cow-just-yet-about-vegan.html
3:05 pm on December 9th, 2008
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
11:30 am on December 18th, 2008
QUARRY GIRL!!!! My bf and I were riding to work today and the Vegan Spot has been transformed into FLORE CAFE. They were open this morning just after 10!
Perhaps all hope is not lost!!!!
7:57 am on December 19th, 2008
[...] after time about this little sandwich shop that could(n’t), but sadly after a good run, they had to close their doors. well now it seems that just 2 weeks later, this new vegetarian coffee house has sprung up in their [...]
9:44 am on January 1st, 2009
snDugL Thanks for good post
10:57 pm on February 16th, 2009
[...] to affect local vegan/vegan-friendly restaurants. within 2 short months we saw the shutting of the vegan spot and of doomie’s home cookin’, arguably the best 2 places to get a meat-free sandwich in [...]
9:03 am on March 2nd, 2009
[...] more and more vegan restaurants close these days (R.I.P. vegan spot and doomie’s), plenty seem to be opening…especially on the west side. we’ve been [...]
8:33 pm on March 17th, 2009
[...] since this post, the vegan spot has CLOSED. a new vegetarian cafe has taken its place. this is very sad news indeed. there is no more vegan [...]
8:36 pm on March 17th, 2009
[...] since this post, the vegan spot has CLOSED. a new vegetarian cafe has taken its place. this is very sad news indeed. there is no more vegan [...]
7:12 am on April 13th, 2009
[...] since this post, the vegan spot has CLOSED. a new vegetarian cafe has taken its place. this is very sad news indeed. there is no more vegan [...]
1:43 pm on August 27th, 2009
[...] to open a vegan restaurant a few blocks down from your other vegan restaurant anyway. So just as Quarrygirl has reminisced about the Vegan Spot on her latest blog post, I would like to take a brief stroll [...]
8:38 am on September 9th, 2009
[...] due to closure or reassignment of the lease to an omnivorous establishment. We’ve already seen Vegan Spot go away, as well as Flore Cafe cease offering LA’s best ever vegan breakfast deal: the “all you [...]