The chain’s closure was for deeper reasons than the cuisine it chose to operate.
In the best grades, it is challenging to use a restaurant that is resistant to certain foods or other anxiety complaints.
On the other hand, having a menu that serves a specific audience helps the eatery target its core customers. On the other hand, serving a private audience limits your potential business.
That’s why many chains that serve the vegan audience with Vegenarantie have failed. By catering to those customers, they are narrowing down their audience significantly.
Vegetables: 6% of US adults identify as vegetarian.
Vegans: 3% of US adults identify as vegan.
Flitarians / Clant-Forch-Forward: 14 to 16% reported reducing meat consumption significantly but still occasionally eating meat. Source: Pew Research Center
In recent years, vegan chains and certain metros have been hit particularly hard, and the list of closures and bankruptcies is long.
Vegan restaurants must overcome the challenges of public perception.
“We’re fighting two wars at once,” shares the regular, Vegan Tooflencer of London’s vegan-based food collection on her blog, London Little Vegan. “People think: ‘Well, it’s very healthy, there’s no protein, that won’t fill me up,’ or they think: ‘Well:
Shouk Restaurant, a vegan and kosher chain, joined that list, but the reason for its demise is more complex than its choice to serve a small niche audience.
Shouk’s website, which has been taken down, shares the same functionality as many other vegan chains.
“We believe that real food based on plants and delivered strictly is the answer to healing our bodies and the planet. They do not make up our spices. There are not many plants,” the company shared on its previous website.
Many restaurants
That’s the same noble cause that seems to be the main reason for many vegan restaurants, but Shouk’s message gets a little dark.
“Our global food systems are broken. Livestock produces 51% of all greenhouse gas emissions, and our bodies are dying, and our bodies are suffering.
Vegan restaurants have struggled in the United States. ” loading=”lazy” height=”540″ width=”960″ class=”yf-1gfnohs loader”/>
Vegan restaurants have fought back in the United States.
Shouk’s website does not emphasize, or even state, that this dish is Kosher. That may be on purpose, based on what led to its closure.
“The owner of a vegan kosher food chain in Washington, DC, said that the celebrities targeting his business to get stuck in Israel have led to the permanent closure this month of his last restaurants,” it was reported.
Related: Olive Garden Launches Deals as Invasive Restaurants
The chain, which opened its first location in 2016, is listed in DC for Palestine’s “Racism? I don’t buy it” restaurant that has fair items or sells Israeli settlement products. “
The chain was accused of cultural appropriation by Palestinian activists.
“A local Palestinian activist group led a boycott campaign calling for a boycott of falafel and other ‘shared’ food menu items ‘reportedly owned by Israelis’
HART House: Kevin Hart’s fast-food vegan chain is closing four of its Los Angeles locations in September 2024 due to financial challenges. Plant based stories
Paper: UpScale Plant-Based Plant-Austray Chain Prewed FAMED for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection in May 2025 AdD Decreases Consumer Dining Activity. Online business restaurant
Sage regenerative kitchen & Brewery: Formerly known as Sage Vegan Bistro, this California chain closed all of its locations in January 2025 after switching to a menu that included animal products, leading to significant planning backlash. People.com
A sudra: A small chain of Indian Vegan restaurants in Portland, Oregon, which is closing in 2024 due to financial difficulties.
This bartolo: A full-service Mexican restaurant in Toronto, Canada, closed in March 2025 after operating since 2020.
All locations are closed: As of October 2025, the shouk is permanently closed all over.
Founders: Dennis Friedman (US) and ran nussbafer (Israel)
Cuisine: Plant-based food, kosher Israel
Highlights: Falafel, hummus, lentil sweaters, and the award-winning shouk-burger
Awards and Recognition: Voted “fastest fast food in DC” for three years by the Washington Post and DC Eater
Reason for closure: Financial challenges compounded by political children, inability to fund jobs
Owners statement: “The energy to continue working is not there … Shouk was not a political place; it was a place for people to come together.” Source: YNET News
This story was originally reported by TheSTreet on Oct 26, 2025, where it appeared first in the category Restaurants. Add Thestreet as your favorite source by clicking here.
