By Kay Wicker/Originally published by thegrio
The abrupt closure of all four locations of Kevin Hart’s fast-food vegan restaurant chain Hart House in Los Angeles has industry experts musing over the staying power of vegan food businesses.
When Hart joined forces with Andy Hooper, the former president of the &pizza chain, to launch Hart House in 2022, the plan was to open 100 locations in five years. The menu offerings included plant-based “burg’rs” and “chick’n” sandwiches, among other items, which aligned with Hart’s transition to mostly a plant-based diet in 2020. Hooper was also interested in eventually entering the consumer packaged goods business.
Hart House initially opened to widespread acclaim and support. The sensational TikTok food reviewer Keith Lee gave Hart House a rave review when he visited in 2023. He praised the establishment for its affordability, sandwiches are under $8 and combos are under $15, and called the sandwich he tried “amazing.”
Now, after the company closed all of its locations, some experts are calling the plan “ambitious.”
According to The Food Institute, Hart House faced an increase in California’s minimum wage from $15.50 to $20 (when the company already offered higher pay, generous health coverage, and employee benefits) and an oversaturated market.
“Consumers may have viewed Hart House as more of a novelty than a serious player in the fast-food industry,” Bassem Mostafa, lead market analyst and owner of Globemonitor Market Research Agency, told The Food Institute.
He continued, “While Kevin Hart’s star power brought visibility, it didn’t necessarily translate into sustained foot traffic or customer retention, both of which are critical for survival in the competitive restaurant space.”
Hart House is far from the only vegan food business to close up shop recently. The Food Institute also reports a “wave” of closures around the country, including the Veggie Grill chain closing 40% of its locations, Stalk & Speed in Minneapolis, Wild Thing in Oregon, and VegeNation in Las Vegas.
“The response to the product has been incredible, and we thank our committed team, our customers, and our community partners for helping make the change we all craved, and for their unwavering support of Hart House,” Hooper noted in a statement confirming the closure of Hart House according to The Food Institute.
High and increasing operating costs in an already saturated market could mean Hart House simply couldn’t stand up to the competition in its previous form. Instead of using Beyond or Impossible patties like many other establishments offering vegan options, Hart House had devised its own. While Lee seemed to enjoy it, others have expressed the opposite sentiment recently.
According to the Daily Mail, some have any gone as far as to compare Hart House to other Black-owned vegan brands like the highly successful Slutty Vegan. Whether the reviews have been made in good faith or not is hard to tell, however, we do know Hart most likely doesn’t care.
During a recent episode of his podcast, “Gold Minds with Kevin Hart,” he told his fellow “Fright Night” co-star Chloe Bailey that he “never” reads reviews concerning “any” of his material — good or bad.
“I don’t get caught up in the good or the bad version of it, because what I get caught up in is having an idea, then telling myself that I’m going to do the idea, collaborating with people to do it, finishing it, then seeing the idea on the big screen, or on the small screen, or in script form,” he said, adding, “I go, ‘Man, good for me. I put my mind on something and I finished it.’ So, I’m happy with the fact that I can do the things that I say I’m going to do. Other people’s opinions of that thing does not affect my joy about my goal of completing [it].”
What’s to come of Hart House is still a mystery, although a goodbye statement on the company’s Instagram does hint at a “next chapter.”
