FANS of a popular restaurant chain are ‘devastated' after it announced it will close its venues after eight years.
Manchester-based vegan street food chain, Herbivorous, confirmed it will be closing all three of its sites this month in an emotional social media post.
Herbivorous was founded by Robyn Marsh and Damian Myles in 2016 and has since become a staple of the city's plant-based food scene, with additional venues in Sheffield and York.
But Robyn and Damian said it had become ‘really difficult to maintain a thriving business', citing challenges including the pandemic, competition and the closure of Hatch food and drink village, one of their busiest sites.
In a message shared on Instagram, the founders said: “It seems you can't open social media at the moment without reading about another hospitality business closing down.
“We've had a lot of big changes in our personal life over recent months including growing our family and a bereavement and it feels like the right time to bring Herbivorous to an end.
“We are so incredibly proud of how far we’ve come from spending long days slinging duck wraps from our green vintage horse box at Festivals to three Herbi locations across the North of England.
“And with that, we've also met so many fantastic people!”
The pair were inspired by American vegan food they discovered during a road trip across the US in 2016.
Starting out by popping up at festivals and venues across the UK, they opened their first restaurant in south Manchester selling vegan street food in 2021.
With everything on the menu created from scratch, Herbivorous became popular for its ‘seitan' chicken burgers, ‘beef' seitan loaded fries and Mississippi mud pies.
In addition to their mock-meat products, they also sold sauces like vegan mayonnaise and homemade desserts.
After announcing the closure of their sites on Instagram yesterday afternoon, devastated fans flooded the comments section.
One customer commented: “Our Herbivorous takeaways helped us get through lockdown and became a weekly thing we really looked forward to.
“So sorry to hear the news but good luck with whatever comes next.”
Another added: “Never got to see you in your own place, but people still talk about your catering at my wedding six years ago!”
Another fan said: “I am so incredibly sad to hear this.
“I've been a loyal Herbi fan for years now – will miss you so much!”
Other vegan restaurants also expressed support with Wawin Vegan Chinese saying: “So gutted to read this guys!
“It's been very tough and we are also feeling the pinch at the moment, it seems the cost to run a business is always increasing but revenue doesn't.”
The vegan chain, Happy Cow, added: “Thanks for all the great work you've done for the vegan community and all the best for what comes next!”
The founders' Instagram also thanked everyone who had worked for Herbivorous saying ‘the memories will stay with us forever.'
They also thanked their “fabulous customers' from the last eight years.
They said: “Thank you all so much for choosing Herbivorous over the years.
“Those of you who had our food at festivals and then found us at one of our permanent locations, those of you who came back week after week to Hatch, Spark, Withington and beyond.
“Those of you we made meal kits and takeaways for at Stratford Food Hall during COVID – thank you!”
Confirming their plans to wind down, the post ended explaining that their Sheffield Kommune site is closed for refurbishment but will not return.
For their other sites, Spark York's last day of business will be Saturday April 19 and Withington Manchester's closing date would be Friday April 25.
Hospitality industry struggles
The hospitality industry has faced mounting pressure in recent years including recovering from the pandemic, rising cost of living, inflation and eye-watering energy bills.
Craig Rachel, director at financial advisory firm AlixPartners, outlined the key factors that drove businesses to close sites last year and continue to cause challenges in 2025.
He said: “have seen the accumulation of external pressures in 2024, including rising utility costs, food prices and labour costs.
“Although some of these factors have stabilised over recent months, the overall impact is significant and will be exacerbated again in 2025 following theannouncements, and this has all affected profitability.
“Some restaurant groups have been able to mitigate this to a certain extent through operational efficiencies and pricing, but consumer spending in the sector is under pressure meaning price measures are often unable to fully bridge the gap.”
