Kevin Hart’s plant-based fast-food chain suddenly closed all its locations in the Los Angeles area two years after it opened, with only a message on Instagram about starting a “new chapter.”
In a post last week on social media from the account of Hart House, the vegan fast food chain owned by the 45-year-old comedian, a message read, “A Hartfelt goodbye for now as we start a new chapter,” the New York Post reported.
“Thank you,” it added. “To our team, guests, and community, who helped make the change we all craved.”
The Los Angeles dining guide Eater confirmed the closures with a statement from Hart House’s CEO Andy Hooper.
“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 told the outlet.
Kevin Hart’s California vegan restaurant chain abruptly closes all locations just two years after opening https://t.co/rHy9wYJ3Xx pic.twitter.com/GcNPcpwkZn
— New York Post (@nypost) September 13, 2024
However, the CEO did not explain why the fast-food joints closed for good with no warning. All four sites were closed on September 10.
In 2020, the “Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle” star announced plans to open the plant-based eateries after he made a change to a vegan lifestyle, the Post noted.
Two years later, Hart House opened with Hooper, saying at the time, it wanted “to give people a plant-based option” after noticing a lack of vegan choices in the world of fast food, the Hollywood Reporter noted.
Hart added, at the time, “If I can give people a place to have the option that’s placed smack dab in the middle of where your McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A, and Burger King [are], people may see a Hart House and say, ‘I’m going to go plant-based today.”
The menu included “100%” plant-based items like burgers, “chicken” sandwiches and nuggets, salads, tater tots, milkshakes and more, THR noted.
In 2023, Hooper told Eater-after opening their 4th location- “Opening on the corner of Sunset and Highland, across the street from Hollywood High School, adjacent to a Chick-fil-A, a couple 100 yards from an In-N-Out, [and inside] a former McDonald’s building is about as emblematic as you can get of our aspiration to be the future of quick-service restaurants.”
The closures follow others by restaurants in Los Angeles. Just last month, the popular burger joint “Shake Shack” announced it would close five Southern California locations by the end of September.
The announcement comes following the enactment of the state of California’s approval to raise minimum wage to $20, the Post noted.
Related: ‘Rooms Are Very Cold’: Kevin Hart Says He Won’t Ever Host Oscars
