Vegan pub’s beef with the locals as it calls last orders
Landlords say plant-based businesses will ‘disappear overnight’ if community fails to get behind them
A VEGAN pub may have sounded like a recipe for success given the meteoric rise in devotees of plant-based diets.
But after meat-eaters snubbed The Monument, in Canterbury, Kent, it has been forced to call last orders after just 30 months.
Tom Boughton and Jo Brookman, who opened the pub in the spring of 2017 with an exclusively vegan menu, have criticised the community for not
“making the most of ” businesses catering for vegans.
They handed their notice to owner Shepherd Neame after what they called “difficult deliberations”, and a closing down party was held this week.
In a statement, they said: “Many small businesses in Canterbury don’t have the luxury of being on well-trodden tourist routes, and like them, we’ve had a quiet summer because of that.
“We do still actively need the support of our local and vegan community otherwise independent businesses like us simply disappear overnight.”
They added: “With pubs going bust at a rate of 18 per week in the UK, if you want to see us stick around, much like other dietary-specific businesses, you need to come and make the most of us.”
Ms Brookman said she now intended to become a “personal fitness coach, specialising in pole dancing fitness”.
Alongside vegan food, drinks were selected based on whether any animal products were used in the manufacturing process. Most lagers and spirits are naturally vegan, and wines were chosen that did not use fish products as a fining agent in the production process.
The pub, which dates back to the 19th century, sold vegan burgers and hot dogs, battered tofu “fish and chips”, called tofish, and soyball marinara.
Other dishes included doner kebabs, using “seitan strips”, battered Oreos, and battered “prawnz”.
Earlier this year, Fressh, a vegan café in Birmingham, shut its doors after just 15 months. It sold products ranging from vegan meatballs to mac ‘n’ cheese, burgers, smoothies and salads.
Commenting on the closure, Elisa Allen, the director of Peta, the animal rights group, said: “The number of vegans in the UK now reaches well over half a million, and as a result, eateries are constantly expanding their offerings to cater to this growing demographic.
“The hospitality business, however, is tough, and many restaurants and pubs, even those which cater to vegans … find themselves struggling.”
Isobel Hutchinson, the director of Animal Aid, which is based in Kent, added: “It is always a great shame when any vegan business closes, but this is certainly not due to any lack of demand for vegan food.
“On the contrary, interest in vegan food has skyrocketed … vegan options are now widely available in restaurants, pubs and supermarkets.”
According to The Vegan Society, the number of vegans in the UK quadrupled between 2014-18 and now stands at more than 600,000.