Southern California fast-food chain Hart House, which specializes in plant-based products, has closed all four locations on September 10, 2024. The restaurant was scheduled to open in 2022. Actor and comedian Kevin Hart led the campaign to advance the restaurant’s mission to embrace a vegan lifestyle. Hart House CEO Andy Hooper confirmed the news to Eater in a written statement: “The response to the product has been incredible and we thank our dedicated team, customers and community partners for helping us make the change we’ve all been longing for and for their unwavering support of Hart House.”
In 2020, Hart announced he was adopting a mostly plant-based diet and began working with Hooper to develop a fast-food brand that would sell chicken sandwiches, nuggets and burgers for under $8 and combo meals for under $15. Hart House avoided using Beyond and Impossible products by developing its own line of proprietary patties.
Hart House opened its first location in August 2022 in Westchester, a block from the bustling In-N-Out Burger at Los Angeles International Airport. The second location in Monrovia opened in November 2022, while University Park opened in June 2023.
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Hart House’s flagship store opened in May 2023 at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue and features a drive-thru that will be replicated for future stores. “Opening at the corner of Sunset and Highland, across from Hollywood High School, next to a Chick-fil-A, a few hundred feet from an In-N-Out (and in a) former McDonald’s building is as symbolic as it gets of our aspiration to be the future of quick-service restaurants,” Hooper told Eater in 2023.
The restaurant industry continues to face challenges due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic, rising operating costs, and a struggling local film and television industry. In early September 2024, ambitious East Coast burger chain Shake Shack closed five stores in the Los Angeles area, including Culver City, Silver Lake, Koreatown, Downtown, and Canoga Park. Although Hart House and Shake Shack scaled back their LA presence within a week, the state of California is experiencing a significant increase in fast-food jobs despite the state’s mandated minimum wage increasing from $15.50 to $20 per hour in April 2024.
