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Famous Comedian’s Vegan Restaurant Franchise Abruptly Closes All Shops
Daily Caller ^ | September 13, 2024 | Dana Abizaid - Contributor

Posted on 09/13/2024 8:06:35 AM PDT by Red Badger

Kevin Hart’s chain of vegan restaurants in California abruptly closed all four of its locations Tuesday, Eater Los Angeles reported.

Hart House promoted a vegan lifestyle that Hart adopted in 2020 while also attempting to provide meals for under $8, according to Eater Los Angeles.

Hart House CEO Andy Hooper sent the outlet a written statement confirming the closures. “The response to the product has been incredible, and we thank our committed team, our customers, and our community partners for helping make the change we all craved, and for their unwavering support of Hart House,” the statement reportedly read.

Hart House opened four restaurants in and around the Los Angeles area, according to the outlet. Its flagship shop reportedly opened its doors in May 2023, coming with a drive-thru intended to serve as a model for future restaurants.

Hart House abruptly calls it quits after only two years on the scene https://t.co/aNmCuz4EbI

— Eater LA (@eaterla) September 11, 2024

“Opening on the corner of Sunset and Highland, across the street from Hollywood High School, adjacent to a Chick-fil-A, a couple 100 yards from an In-N-Out, [and inside] a former McDonald’s building is about as emblematic as you can get of our aspiration to be the future of quick-service restaurants,” Hooper told Eater Los Angeles last year.

It remains unclear why the restaurant chain closed up shop so quickly, FOX 11 reported.

Due to a July law that raised California fast food workers’ hourly wage from $16 to $20 an hour, many franchises began reducing hours and raising prices to remain afloat, according to FOX11.

Multiple Pizza Hut locations in the state cut their delivery services last year to comply with the law, known as the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, the outlet reported.

Other large franchises like McDonald’s and Chipotle have indicated that they will need to raise prices to meet the increased cost of labor, FOX11 reported.


TOPICS: Agriculture; Business/Economy; Food; Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: andyhooper; california; chipotle; gavinnewsom; harthouse; kevinhart; losangeles; mcdonalds; pizzahut; vegan; vegans
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To: OldHarbor

His comedy was very filthy. A young relative told us we had to see it and turned it on one night. It was beyond crude. It was not just a risque joke here and there... it was straight up filthy.


41 posted on 09/13/2024 10:49:33 AM PDT by DesertRhino (2016 Star Wars, 2020 The Empire Strikes Back, 2024... RETURN OF THE JEDI. )
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To: DesertRhino

I worked two of his shows, Trump had been in office for a couple of months.

He tried a Trump joke and got some boos, not an overwhelming boo but it was Audible. The second set, no Trump joke.


42 posted on 09/13/2024 10:53:11 AM PDT by OldHarbor (strained statutory arguments, appeals to inconsistent history, reliance on out-of-c)
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To: Dexter Morgan

Nothing like real experience in this biz, and sounds like you have a lot of it.

Curious - do you stay invested? Do you set the model so that owner is eventually buying you out?

What options do have (and steps you take) if the restaurant starts do decline?


43 posted on 09/13/2024 10:55:37 AM PDT by PGR88
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To: PGR88

Essentially I (with a group of mostly silent partners) provide private term loans with a max payback of 5 years...I have no interest in owning or running any of the various businesses with whom I work.

I got really lucky and had stopped doing most restaurants about two years before covid was in full swing. Never liked the unsecured nature of the business but it performed well for the most part. My last restaurant paid off earlier this year and I haven’t been rebooking in that business after covid, especially since I’ve found other industries I like a lot better.

I did a couple of failed restaurants and doctor’s offices...you pay top dollar for the equipment and 6 months later it’s worth 10 cents on the dollar on the secondary market.

Best case scenario is to help an owner (in any business) to get through a rough patch...as long as we believe they will make it long term. Second best is to find another party to take over the space lease and accept terms to keep the equipment in place.

I work through my own connections and with brokers to sell any repo equipment. Unfortunately when there is a deficiency, I do file a lawsuit to be made whole but as it’s said, you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip. My main goal at that point is to recoup my initial investment, then walk away.

Several years ago I did a small loan of $45,000 to a doctor who wanted an ultrasound machine that printed high-quality pictures. He was making almost a half million per year, had no other debt, and great credit history. After a few months he lost interest because he wasn’t generating revenue with the machine like he thought he would and simply walked away. He actually told me it was my fault because I made the decision to give him the loan.

This was in LA County and after having a couple of other business owners down there (in different industries) just walk away from their equipment, I said it’s not worth it.

In my experience, most people, when they get into trouble, do the right thing and help sell the equipment and/or return it. This approach ensures both of us get top dollar and leaves little deficiency, if any. To have several people in a small area throw in the towel without regard to the consequences made me think, there’s something wrong with their character-—one of the 5 C’s of credit.


44 posted on 09/13/2024 11:36:55 AM PDT by Dexter Morgan ("Fox News? Appalling. Appalling and amateurish. So both at the same time; it's a bad combination.")
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To: Red Badger

“Vegan comedian” is a funny joke right there, unless “Vegan” is short of “Las Vegan.”


45 posted on 09/13/2024 11:41:44 AM PDT by x
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To: DesertRhino

I worked an Amy Schumer concert in 2016 .

25-30 references to anal sex throughout her set. Not funny.

The only actual ha ha funny comedian show I worked was Gabriel Iglesias.


46 posted on 09/13/2024 12:01:03 PM PDT by OldHarbor (strained statutory arguments, appeals to inconsistent history, reliance on out-of-c)
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To: Red Badger

But supposedly the chain was a big hit. No one shuts down thriving concern. Sometin don’t jive with the BS story presented.


47 posted on 09/13/2024 12:32:35 PM PDT by Robert DeLong
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To: PGR88
Running the cafe’ was grueling, but almost fun. Me and my partner built a deck overlooking the creek in our fairly rural
location, got our ABC license for beer and wine, and had local bands
play on the deck on weekends, and basically (partially) revitalized
a dying little town.

Kinda fun? Yeah.

Tons of nearly endless work? You bet.

A source of supreme profitability? Not on your life.

48 posted on 09/13/2024 12:35:21 PM PDT by GaltAdonis
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To: wildcard_redneck

It might still be open if he had created a bug restaurant, like this one.


     


(Of course, bugs are not vegetables, so I guess they would be considered meat.)

49 posted on 09/13/2024 3:45:51 PM PDT by Songcraft
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