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.

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35 Comments

  • 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/

  • 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.

  • In theory I liked the place, but never went. It was always utterly and totally empty. Bummer for them tho.

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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!

    :-)

  • No flesh and blood in the food at Zen Burger. Plenty of good intention. Not perfect. Mean people suck. Don’t have a cow.

  • 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!!!

  • 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.

  • Die Hippies, Die …..DIE!

  • #1 cause of global warming? Feed lots. Prime contributor to heart disease, cancer and Rudy McBagel? Chemical laden meat.

  • james tu, u watch out

  • 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!

  • 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.

  • 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!!!!!

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