Veg’d, a 100% plant-based drive-through by James Beard Award-nominated chef Matthew Kenney, will close its doors for good after nearly three years in business. Its final day will be Friday, Feb. 23.
According to a press release the Veg’s communications team posted to Instagram, “We are incredibly grateful for your support throughout the years, and we want to assure you that this decision was not taken lightly. Due to excessive and unsustainable rent and other multiple determining factors of increasingly rising business costs, it has become impossible for us to keep the business going.”
Located inside a former Del Taco at the corner of Bristol Street and Red Hill Avenue in Costa Mesa, Veg’d specialized in fast-casual fare like breakfast sandwiches, burritos, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, wraps and bowls, with a vegan bent.
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Keeping in line with its sustainable philosophy, Veg’d also featured biodegradable and compostable packaging made with recycled materials.
Kenney, a celebrity chef whom Food & Wine named “best new chef” in 1994, has had more than 25 restaurants attached to his name, including, Plant Food + Wine (with locations in Los Angeles and Lima, Peru) and Baia (San Francisco).
According to a January report in the Los Angeles Times, the noted chef has had financial and legal trouble with his restaurant empire. Since late 2022, six of the chef’s Los Angeles eateries have closed, including Double Zero in Venice and Hungry Angelina in Long Beach, as well as a handful of other restaurants across the country.
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