Politics force restaurant chain to close all locations, no bankruptcy

• Vegan restaurants serve a limited audience.
• A number of vegan chains have closed this year.
• This chain's shutdown was for reasons deeper than the cuisine it chose to serve.

In the best of cases, it's challenging to operate a restaurant that caters to a specific diet or other culinary concerns.

On one hand, having a menu that serves a specific audience helps an eatery identify its core clientele. On the other hand, serving a niche audience limits your potential business.

That's why so many chains that serve the vegan and vegetarian audience have failed. By catering to those customers, they greatly narrow their audience.

Vegetarian and vegan population in the United States

• Vegetarians: 6% of U.S. adults identify as vegetarian.
• Vegans: 3% of U.S. adults identify as vegan.
• Flexitarians/plant-forward eaters: 14 to 16% report reducing meat consumption significantly but still occasionally eating meat.
  Source: Pew Research Center

In recent years, vegan and vegetarian chains have been hit especially hard, and the list of closures and bankruptcies is long.

Vegan restaurants have to overcome public perception challenges.

"We’re fighting two battles at the same time,” shared Clare Every, a vegan influencer highlighting the best plant-based food London has to offer on her blog, The Little London Vegan. “People either think: ‘Oh, it’s too healthy, there’s no protein, that’s not going to fill me up,’ or they think: ‘Oh, it’s processed, it’s not healthy.’”

Shouk restaurant, a chain that was both vegan and Kosher, has joined that list, but the reason for its demise is more complicated than its choice to serve a relatively small niche audience.

Shouk was a chain with a mission

The Shouk website, which has been taken down, shared a mission similar to that of many other vegan chains.

"We believe that real food derived from plants and sustainably delivered is the answer to healing our bodies and planet. We craft our food from fresh vegetables, beans, grains, and lots of spices. No labs, nothing processed or engineered. Just brilliant plants, made to inspire," the company shared on its former website.

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That's the same noble purpose that seems to be the core justification for most vegan restaurants, but Shouk's message gets a little darker.

"Our world’s food systems are broken. Livestock produces 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, our oceans are dying, and our bodies are suffering. A move towards plant-based eating is the answer to healing our bodies and planet," it added.

Why did the Shouk restaurant chain close?

The Shouk website does not focus on, or even mention, that the chain is Kosher. That may be intentional, based on what led to its closure.

"The owner of a vegan kosher food chain in Washington, D.C., said boycotts that targeted his business for its ties to Israel led to the permanent closure this month of his last two restaurants," Forward reported.

The chain, which opened its first location in 2016, was listed on D.C. for Palestine’s “Apartheid? I Don’t Buy It” boycott initiative in March, categorized under “restaurants that culturally appropriate or sell Israeli settlement products.”

The chain was accused of cultural appropriation by Palestinian activists.

"Local activist group DC for Palestine led a boycott campaign that claimed the restaurant’s falafel and other menu items 'appropriated' Palestinian cuisine and that the owners were 'complicit in Israeli apartheid,'" Fox Business reported.

Vegan and vegetarian chains that have closed or filed for bankruptcy

• Hart House: Kevin Hart’s vegan fast-food chain closed all four of its Los Angeles locations in September 2024 due to financial challenges. Plant Based News
• Planta: The upscale plant-based restaurant chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2025 amid declining consumer dining activity. Restaurant Business Online
• Sage Regenerative Kitchen & Brewery: Formerly known as Sage Vegan Bistro, this Southern California chain closed all its locations in January 2025 after shifting to a menu that included animal products, leading to significant backlash. People.com
• The Sudra: A small chain of India(BHARAT)n vegan restaurants in Portland, Oregon, closed in 2024 due to financial difficulties.
• La Bartola: A fully vegan Mexican restaurant in Toronto, Canada, closed in March 2025 after operating since 2020.

Shouk closure at a glance

• All Locations Closed: As of October 2025, Shouk has permanently closed every location.
• Founders: Dennis Friedman (U.S.) and Ran Nussbacher (Israel)
• Cuisine: Plant-based, kosher Israeli street food
• Menu Highlights: Falafel, hummus, lentil stews, and the award-winning Shouk Burger
• Awards & Recognition: Voted "Best Fast Casual in D.C." for three years by The Washington Post and DC Eater
• Reason for Closure: Financial challenges compounded by political boycotts, inability to sustain operations
• Owner Statement: “The ability to continue to operate wasn’t there... Shouk wasn’t a political place; it was a place for people to come together.”
  Source: Ynet News

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