A PROMINENT PLANT-BASED RESTAURANT WILL START SERVING MEAT, AND VEGANS ARE UPSET

On May 29, Sage Plant Bistro & Brewery will shift gears with a new approach and revised name of Sage Regenerative Kitchen & Brewery, serving regenerative farm-based beef, bison, cheese, and eggs to a previously plant-based menu. Owners and chefs Mollie Engelhart and her husband Elias Sosa established Sage as one of Southern California’s more notable plant-based restaurants in 2011 in Echo Park, expanding it into a brewery in 2017. They also operate a takeout/delivery spot in Culver City and a full-service Pasadena. Since announcing the changes on April 22, the couple has faced a backlash from animal rights groups and loyal customers who feel betrayed, adding to the challenge of operating multiple restaurants in Los Angeles.

Engelhart, who remains vegetarian, tells Eater that the couple didn’t make this decision lightly. Her husband, who hails from Oaxaca and is omnivorous, had been urging his wife to take this step for some time. “My husband grew up in a region where there were no grocery stores, and all of his food was either hunted or grown,” says Engelhart. “For him, we’re moving towards something that more resembles being closer to nature. Being vegan thing was always very hard for him to swallow and seemed very disconnected from the cycle of nature that he grew up in.”

Engelhart and Sosa see promise in adding regenerative meats and dairy to their once-vegan menu. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, regenerative agriculture and farming rethinks the land management for those who grow produce and farm livestock into a more sustainable one through soil restoration and ecosystem health.

Previously, breakfast burritos were made with a tofu scramble; now, they can include pasture-raised eggs and bison sausage. The menu also offers a pasture-raised grass-fed bison burger and beef tallow fries. Sourdough pizzas now come with the options of plant-based cheese, dairy cheese, and meat toppings. Many of Sage’s dishes will remain vegan, with the option of adding meat. Longtime favorites like the Brazilian bowl and buffalo cauliflower remain on the menu.

The last few years have been challenging for Sage and other plant-based restaurants. Engelhart and Sosa closed their Agoura Hills location and had to sell their family farm, which grew a good portion of the restaurant’s produce and composted Sage’s food waste. As costs rose for all restaurants, the couple witnessed other local operators struggle and adjust. In 2023, Junkyard Dog and Flore Vegan in Silver Lake ceased operations, and in recent months, Shojin in Downtown and Nic’s on Beverly in Beverly Grove closed.

A handful of plant-based operators chose not to close but instead decided to add meat to their menus. Over a year ago, Burgerlords added meat back, with co-owner Fred Guerrero telling Eater LA, “Three years ago when I decided to turn Burgerlords into an all-vegan restaurant, our sales plummeted by 50 percent.” In December, Silver Lake pizzeria Hot Tongue announced via Instagram that it added meat as a pizza topping and turned off all comments on that same post, concerned about the backlash from animal rights groups and plant-based diners.

On Sage’s April 22 Instagram post announcing its menu changeover, there were hundreds of negative comments, including one from the Monty’s Good Burger account, “We were very disappointed to see the announcement on Monday. Although I don’t know Molly personally, I have long looked up to her as a leader in the plant-based community.” Monty’s Good Burger is operated by former Nic’s on Beverly owner Nic Adler.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) also responded by calling out Sage and Engelhart with its own Instagram post: “How can a business go from promoting compassion and sustainability to this? Regenerative Agriculture is a SHAM if it involves animals.”

In 2015, Engelhart’s father Matthew Engelhart, who co-owns plant-based restaurants Cafe Gratitude and Gracias Madre, received death threats after followers discovered he was eating and ‘harvesting’ animals at their Northern California farm. Mollie Engelhart’s decision came from years of studying regenerative farming practices. She acknowledges that people will be angry but is prepared to move forward with the changes.

“This is not a marketing ploy or greenwashing,” says Engelhart. “I have been living this way of agriculture and not watching it not just on the Internet, but in real life, and I am blown away by the results. No matter what diet you eat, whether vegan, fruitarian, or pescatarian, growing healthy soil is foundational to human and animal health, and that is what I’m committed to.”

2024-04-25T21:54:15Z dg43tfdfdgfd