Hart House: Kevin Hart’s Plant-Based Restaurant Chain Shuts Down After Brief Run

Hart House, Kevin Hart’s Vegan Fast Food Chain, Abruptly Closes

In a sur­pris­ing turn of events, come­di­an and actor Kevin Hart’s plant-based fast food ven­ture, Hart House, has shut down all of its loca­tions in the Los Ange­les area.

The chain, which launched just two years ago with the goal of pro­vid­ing a health­i­er fast food alter­na­tive, has now closed its doors for good.

Hart House’s Short-Lived Run and Ambitious Mission

Hart House was found­ed in 2020 as a joint effort between Hart and CEO Andy Hoop­er. The chain aimed to offer a 100% plant-based menu, includ­ing veg­an burg­ers, “chick­en” sand­wich­es, fries, sal­ads, and milkshakes. 

Hart had envi­sioned Hart House as a way to “cre­ate a good expe­ri­ence that com­bines the joy of com­ing togeth­er over food, with the pow­er of purpose.”

Sudden Closure with No Clear Explanation

The sud­den clo­sure of all Hart House loca­tions came as a sur­prise, with the CEO sim­ply stat­ing that the “response to the prod­uct has been incred­i­ble” and thank­ing the team, cus­tomers, and com­mu­ni­ty part­ners for their support.

How­ev­er, Hoop­er did not pro­vide any spe­cif­ic rea­son for the abrupt shutdown.

Challenges Facing Plant-Based Fast Food Chains

The clo­sure of Hart House reflects the broad­er chal­lenges fac­ing plant-based fast food chains, which have strug­gled to gain trac­tion and main­tain profitability.

The rapid expan­sion of the Cal­i­for­nia min­i­mum wage to $20 per hour has also put sig­nif­i­cant pres­sure on the restau­rant indus­try, lead­ing to wide­spread job cuts and closures.

The Impact on Employees and Customers

The unex­pect­ed shut­ter­ing of Hart House has left its employ­ees and loy­al cus­tomers in limbo. 

The com­pa­ny’s social media post announc­ing the clo­sure expressed grat­i­tude to its “team, guests, and com­mu­ni­ty” for their sup­port, but did not pro­vide any details on the fate of its work­force or plans for the future.