OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — Oakland vegan restaurant Millenium announced it would be shutting its doors after 31 years of service Saturday.
“After almost 32 years, Millenium as you know it will close in mid-May,” said co-owner and general manager Alison Bagby in a social media video.
Bagby said the way the restaurant is currently running was not financially sustainable for her or head chef Eric Tucker anymore.
“We just aren’t busy enough to keep operating this way,” Bagby said. “Eric is paying out of pocket for kitchen equipment. The list goes on and on and on.”
Restaurant goers have lamented the announcement as “heartbreaking” on social media. One comment from Instagram user OaklandStreetBunz, an Oakland rabbit rescue, according to its description, remembered their time as frequenters of the restaurant since the 1990s.
“Millennium isn’t *just* an absolutely incredible restaurant, it’s also a community support system! From the 90’s when me & my AR friends would treat ourselves after a civil disobedience to now as they support my rabbit rescue (and so many other animal rescues), Millennium has been a GEM,” the comment read.
Another Instagram user JennaPacelli, a neuroscientist and licensed therapist with over 53k followers, according to her Instagram description, touted the restaurant as, “The best vegan restaurant in the US.”
The restaurant has specialized in vegan cuisine in a fine dining setting for over three decades. In the video, Bagby urged people to come in during their last six weeks of service to “experience what they’ve been doing.”
“If you want to support us when we need it most, now is the time to do it,” she said. “We are determined to find a way for Millennium to continue.”
Its last operational day will be May 16.
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