Millennium, one of the Bay Area’s pioneering vegan restaurants, is closing after more than three decades.
The 31-year-old restaurant’s last day at 5912 College Ave. in Oakland will be May 16, co-owner Alison Bagby said in an Instagram video posted Friday. “We’ve had difficult times over the last year. It’s clear to us right now that this isn’t financially sustainable for us anymore,” she said. “We just aren’t busy enough to keep operating this way.”
“I’m really just so grateful for all the support we’ve received over nearly 32 years,” Bagby said via text message.
Original owners Larry and Ann Wheat opened Millennium in 1994 inside of San Francisco’s Hotel California, where it made waves as a vegan fine-dining restaurant. Executive chef and co-owner Eric Tucker’s eclectic menu went beyond salads and meat substitutes, including fried oyster mushrooms and tamales with cashew “cheese” filling.
In January, Tucker and Bagby posted a plea for support on Instagram, stating that the restaurant wasn’t busy enough to stay open past 7:30 p.m. that evening. Tucker started “paying out of pocket for kitchen equipment,” Bagby said in Friday’s Instagram video.
Bagby is “determined” to find a future for a different version of Millennium. “We are hopeful that a few of us can bring something small, intentional, and sustainable after this current chapter closes,” she said.