Manchester-based vegan brand Herbivorous to close remaining restaurants

Manchester-based vegan street food business Herbivorous has confirmed it will be closing all three sites this month after eight years of trading.

Herbivorous was founded by Robyn Marsh and Damian Myles in 2016 after the pair discovered American vegan food during a road trip across the US. They started out at festivals and vegan events across the UK before opening their first bricks and mortar restaurant in Manchester’s Withington in 2021.

It became known for serving seitan ‘chicken’ burgers, ‘beef’ seitan loaded fries and Mississippi mud pies.

In a message on Instagram, the founders said: “Throughout eight years of Herbivorous we’ve come up against many challenges, from Covid five years ago to watching all the big vegan brands from London and beyond come to Manchester and largely disappear again, to the closure of Hatch, our busiest site, but with continually increasing costs it’s becoming really difficult to maintain a thriving business.

“We’ve had a lot of big changes in our personal life over recent months, including growing our family and a bereavement, and it feels like the right time to bring Herbivorous to an end.”

Herbivorous’ Sheffield Commune site is currently closed for refurbishment and will not be reopening, while its outpost at Spark York will permanently shut its doors on 19 April. The Manchester restaurant will also close on 25 April.

Image: Herbivorous website