High Rent Causes Zen Burger To Close
I have to say I’m a little shocked by this one… walked by Zen Burger today (on Lexington btw. 45+46th) to discover that this past Friday was their last day open for business. This one year old vegetarian fast food chain from the owners of Zen Palate (which has also been plagued by money issues over the years) was disliked by many meat lovers, but I was kind of into their whole premise: fast food that is almost identical to McDonald’s, but without using any meat.
The letter blamed “extremely high rent” for the closing, and said to watch out for news about “future locations”. No word on how this will effect their West Hollywood, CA location supposedly opening at the beginning of 2009.
The full letter is after the jump.
Posted: 3:04 pm, December 15th, 2008 under Closed, Zen Burger.
35 Comments | RSS comments feed for this post
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35 Comments
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That’s a shame. Sounded like a decent operation, although I would never eat there myself *loves his meat*
This is my first time commenting, so I just wanted to say awesome blog! You’ve put a couple of places like El Rincon Del Sabor and Menchanko-Tei on top of my list!
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I am deeply saddened by this news. I think I can speak on behalf of all the Haters here, when I say Zen Burger produced some of finest comments ever on this site. You will be missed.
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I never had zen burger, but i did have zen palate about 8 yrs ago. Oh god!!! Wheat Gluton!!! NASTY!!!!! SOOOO NASTY!!!!! I vomitted after one bite—i kid you not!!!! I can only imagine how zen burger was….
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McDonald’s without meat… isn’t that redunant? There is no way a Big Mac has any cow in it.
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Who cares it was Shake Shack o’clock today!
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this is the kind of news that makes me come out of midtown lunch retirement.
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I never got to give them a try….the food did look good.
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James Tu… what goes around comes around : )
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think i called that this place wouldn’t last more than a year the first time i walked by it on lex.
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I loved this place and was there all the time. Lately it’s been totally dead. I don’t think the rent would have seemed so high had they had enough customers.
It was totally the wrong location, though. I think it would do way better in the Union Square area or even the Upper West Side. I hope they move to greener pastures.
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The food was the WORST.
A frosted-over Boca Burger out of my own freezer was better. -
That was the EXACT (and I mean, to the letter) same notice that was up in Zen Palate Union Square’s final days. I guess the rent really is out of control in this city. Either that or the owners just aren’t very good businesspeople.
Regardless, I really did enjoy going to the ZP in Union Square, especially when the weather was warm and they’d open up the sidewalk tables. That’s life in the Big Apple…. -
BUMMER!!! So glad I got to get one last meal in there last week, with no idea that it was doomed. It was packed, and it seemed that everyone was loving it. :,( BOO HOO!!!
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shoulda called the place a$$burger, P.U. they stank.
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I don’t see how they can blame the rent. They knew how much it was before they opened. Even if it has gone up recently, it would have been in the original agreement. Other stores in the area pay similar rent and are still open. This is just saying they don’t have a viable business model. Anyone without enough customers can blame high rent. Business is all about making enough profit to cover rent and all other costs. If rents were too high, ALL shops in the area would be closed. Or perhaps they just didn’t negotiate properly.
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Anyway, this is still junk food, it just doesn’t have the meat. I’m not sure why anyone would want to go there. There are much better veggie places in NYC.
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I’m vegetarian, and the food wasn’t terrible. The only thing was, it was NOT one bit healthier than McDonald’s. The average Zen Burger had like 900 calories and 20 grams of fat. I don’t know what the hell they were putting in that food, but I did not want it in my body. I was also dismayed that their buns were cheap-tasting and not whole grain… And no sweet potato fries instead of regular fries? Come on. I think they could have survived if it had been a little bit healthier (and it IS possible to make healthy food taste good).
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And a little-known fact… Part of an episode of Law & Order SVU was filmed in there, and Zen Burger (called Happy Burger or something in the episode) was the location of a sex crime. The episode had Robin Williams in it, but it was pretty awful plot-wise. Evidently the location fee wasn’t enough to sustain them till the end of the year.
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The (literal) insanity of those who do not eat meat is quite a contentious subject in the world of academic literature.
I would attempt to explain some of the premises, but I fear no one here would comprehend it.
Least of all, McBeagle.
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hey meg, it wasn’t so little known around these parts: http://midtownlunch.com/blog/2008/05/12/zen-burger-pops-up-on-law-order-suv/
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I tried this place, I was not that impressed. I didn’t like the texture, or really even the taste of the burger. Boca burgers are better. But then, I am a meat eater.
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In theory I liked the place, but never went. It was always utterly and totally empty. Bummer for them tho.
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I am totally bummed. I hiked over there from 6th ave today and saw the notice (should’ve checked here first). I really liked their fake chicken bbq sand. Funny tho’ it was always busy when I was in there. I hope they find another location close to me.
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DocChuck,
You’re funny! I love it when people try to feed their drama addiction by trying to piss people off in comments sections like this. It’s the best when they make provocative statements and then fail to support them by claiming their targets are too stupid to understand. It makes it that much easier to laugh at you.
What’s the matter, do all the actual flesh-and-blood people you know no longer rise to attempts at baiting them? Or have they just stopped talking to you entirely?
:-D
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As for Zen Palate & Zen Burger - like any human endavor, they had their good points and bad.
They’re a little rigid in many ways, and too lax in others, and I think this may contribute to their various business failures.
They made some really good dishes, and some that were less delicious, like many restaurants.
The bottom line is that they were another option for vegetarians, so I’m sad to see them go. They filled a void left by the fire at Veg City Diner. Sometimes you just want some yummy (in the way only bad-for-you food can be) junk food, and from all accounts, these folks filled the bill.
That said, there are still many other contenders, especially in the city.
And, as for McDonalds, unfortunately there is cow in that food. And many various disgusting things. Go watch SuperSize Me . . . keeping in mind that Morgan Spurlock began that project more as a polemic against what he saw as stupid people making hay by suing McDonalds, so it’s not a vegetarian manifesto by any means. I mean the guy was eating the stuff morning, noon and night, for a month. No vegetarian would do that. Only during the middle of his McDiet did he start to realize that the stuff is actually seriously dangerous to your health!
At least the kind of food the Zen folks make won’t make you impotent, cause you to have trouble breathing, and damage your liver!
:-)
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No flesh and blood in the food at Zen Burger. Plenty of good intention. Not perfect. Mean people suck. Don’t have a cow.
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I brought a friend to Zen Burger last Monday morning & we found out that they are now closed due to “high rent” - BULL SHIT!!! The owners could not even re-located somewhere else - come to Bedstuy Brooklyn!!!! You are greatly needed there!!!
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I have worked many years in the East 40’s and was looking forward to dependable quality when they 1st opened. However, my 1st visit was so disappointing. Very dry veg burger and non-atmosphere. Put aside other financial issue- just a mediocre product they served.
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Die Hippies, Die …..DIE!
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#1 cause of global warming? Feed lots. Prime contributor to heart disease, cancer and Rudy McBagel? Chemical laden meat.
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james tu, u watch out
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They were overpriced and the quality was uneven, but I’m sorry to see them go. The ZenShrimp was the best. Now what’s going in there? ANOTHER Mexican fast food joint. What the world needs now….. NOT!
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What a loss for us veggies! While I could care less what some of the commentators on this page say about it, the place as a whole had a great concept: all organic ingredients with biodegradable packing, and of course, a delicious treat for us veggies! I remember in January I was eager to stop by b/c I was hungry and craving it, and I almost had tears in my eyes when I saw that a stupid Baja Fresh was taking over! Boo-urns to that!
And as far as rent goes, I used to work at a small real estate office outside of Boston. That small office was $5,000/month. So you can only imagine the rent not only in Manhattan, but across the street from Grand Central! I think they would’ve been better off putting up a place in the East Village or Union Square, where there are tons of veggie restaurants! I really hope to hear from them again in the future.
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The problem with this store was not high rent - it was mismangement. The first manager got fired then they brought in a great guy from corporate to try to fix it and it was out of his league even though he tried his darndest. It was even hard for him to put schedules together since his “assistant manager” Craig was engaged to one of the girls who worked in the front and her hours came before anyone else. Her girl firend also got all the hours that she wanted. MISMANAGEMENT IN THE WORST WAY!!!!!
what! oh the vegetarians in my office are going to be PISSED!!!!