Southern California plant-based fast food chain Heart House Hart House closed all four locations on September 10, 2024. The restaurant will reopen in 2022, spearheaded by actor and comedian Kevin Hart, furthering its mission of a vegan lifestyle. Hart House CEO Andy Hooper confirmed the news to Eater in a written statement: “The response to our products has been incredible, and we’re grateful to our dedicated team, customers, community partners, and their unwavering support of Hart House for helping us make the change we all so desperately need.”
In 2020, Hart announced that he had adopted a primarily plant-based diet and was working with Hooper to develop a fast-food brand that would sell chicken sandwiches, nuggets, and burgers for under $8, and combo menu items for under $15. Hart House avoided using Beyond or Impossible products by developing its own line of patties.
Hart House opened its first location in Westchester, one block from a busy In-N-Out Burger at Los Angeles International Airport, in August 2022. A second location in Monrovia is scheduled to open in November 2022, and a University Park location is scheduled to open in June 2023.
Hart House’s flagship location will open in May 2023 at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, with a drive-thru that will also be introduced to future locations. “We’re opening at the corner of Sunset and Highland, across from Hollywood High School, next to Chick-fil-A and about 100 yards from In-N-Out,” said the company. [and inside] “Renovating the former McDonald’s building is emblematic of our ambitions for the future of quick-service restaurants,” Hooper told Eater in 2023.
The restaurant industry continues to face challenges due to the lingering effects of the pandemic, rising operating costs, and a downturn in the local film and television industry. In early September 2024, Shake Shack, an ambitious East Coast burger chain, closed five locations in the Los Angeles area, including Culver City, Silver Lake, Koreatown, Downtown, and Canoga Park. Both Hart House and Shake Shack reduced their Los Angeles presence within a week, but California Significant increase Even though the state’s minimum wage is set to increase from $15.50 to $20 an hour in April 2024, fast-food jobs remain low-paying.
