Vegan Quick Bites (685 Manhattan Ave.), formerly known as Next Stop Vegan, announced that they will close their Greenpoint location in two weeks after serving fresh vegan food to the neighborhood for a little over a year. The last day of service will be June 15.
Vegan Quick Bites is a tiny chain that offers 100% plant-based meals. Owners Blenlly Mena and Javier Saba opened the first Next Stop Vegan restaurant three years ago in Brooklyn Heights. The Greenpoint outpost opened in the former home of Mama Pho last summer.
Earlier this year, Next Stop Vegan unveiled some changes to the Greenpoint location, including a new logo and name.
“We’ve decided to change the name and use our fast-casual brand, Vegan Quick Bites, to better adapt to the Greenpoint community,” Mena and Saba previously told Greenpointers.
The small restaurant was remodeled with the addition of a hot steam table buffet where customers can build their own meal, similar to the one in Brooklyn Heights.
In the announcement of the Greenpoint closure on Instagram, Mena referred to the remodel, making it clear that she tried to salvage the location before closing it.
“When things got tough, we adapted,” Mena said. “We transformed the restaurant from casual dining to a more fast-paced, accessible model.”
Vegan Quick Bites even lowered prices to attract more customers, but Mena explained that this still did not save the restaurant, adding that the Greenpoint location has not been sustainable for months, with the Brooklyn Heights location carrying all operating costs.
Mena told Greenpointers that she is “a bit heartbroken and very sad because we tried to save it so many different ways.”
The Instagram post asks customers to visit Vegan Quick Bites’s GoFundMe page which notes that funds raised will help to cover closing costs of the Greenpoint location, as well as support for staff during the transition.