Outraged activists have taken aim at a famed vegan restaurant chain which has announced it will close all locations after adding meat to the menu one year ago.
Sage Regenerative Kitchen & Brewery boasts restaurants across California and was once a leader in the plant-based casual dining experience.
Originally known as Sage Vegan Bistro, chef/owner Mollie Engelhart then announced a shift in direction alongside a rebrand last year.
Engelhart renamed the chain while implementing a range of animal products to the menu.
The decision to do so was widely criticized and met with protests from vegan activists who even formed an angry mob outside one of the restaurants.
An announcement earlier this week that the restaurants are set to close has come much to the delight of former clientele who continued to blast the move.
In a statement to Instagram, the company said: ‘As we reflect on the journey that began back in 2011, we remember Mollie and Elias at the farmers market, gathering the freshest farm-to-table produce (long before they were a couple).
‘Over the past 14 years, their unwavering commitment to quality food and supporting local farmers has been the heartbeat of our restaurant.
‘One year ago, we faced tremendous challenges and they made the difficult decision to sell their home in hopes of breathing new life into Sage.
‘We all poured our passion into shifting the concept to regenerative agriculture, but despite our efforts, we find ourselves in the same predicament today.
‘Sunday, January 5th will be our final day of service. We invite you to visit us during our last week. Please share your favorite memories with us; they mean the world.
‘Thank you for 14 incredible years of support. With love from the Sage family, Mollie & Elias, we say goodbye.’
The top comment on the post came from animal rights organization PETA, who said: ‘LA’s first and LAST regenerative kitchen. Serving humane-washed meat, dairy, and eggs under the sham of ‘regenerative farming’ betrayed animals, the planet, and kind customers who weren’t duped by your cruel choices.’
Another person said: ‘My favorite memory is when compassion and ethics were on the menu.
‘It’s very apparent now that you were simply scrambling to figure out a way to make more money this past year, and lost your way, sold out the animals, and put exploitation first. I’m not surprised you’re closing.’
One other added: ‘We said goodbye to Sage already. Bummer dead animals didn’t bring y’all enough money to stay open.’
Speaking with the LA Times, Engelhart said the plan to move towards animal products was to ‘focus on sourcing and proselytizing regenerative farming practices’.
The renowned chef announced the restaurant’s transition to regenerative farming in an Instagram post on Earth Day last year.
They began offering meats such as bison and beef as well as cheese and eggs, which brought with it considerable backlash.
Tensions came to ahead last June when activists stormed the restaurant and even threw fake blood down as a protest.
‘These people came inside of my restaurant, harassed my customers, my employees, vandalized my restaurant and openly said they’d like to put me out of business,’ Engelhart told Fox Digital at the time.
She also cited soaring crime in her local neighborhood of Echo Park as one of the greatest challenges facing her business.
‘Friday night, there was a stabbing right outside the restaurant,’ Engelhart said. ‘The neighborhood already feels chaotic and scary without this added stress.
‘It’s illegal what these people are doing, harassing guests and staff inside the restaurant, and the police did not show up for three hours.’
After making the move to make her restaurant non-vegan, she also told The LA Times: ‘I had the same views of the world that they did before I shifted my ideas based on my experience in farming, and I have compassion for what they’re feeling.
‘I hope that the vegan community and the regenerative community can really come together because I think they’re both powerful, powerful pathways for change.
‘It’s vulnerable to publicly say, ‘I believed one thing, and maybe I was wrong and now I believe something else’.
‘But I hope that it inspires people in their own lives to be willing to be open-minded when something else makes more sense to you.’