Vegan International in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay

When vegan restaurant Good Intentions opened in 2022, Tampa Bay’s vegan and vegetarian dining scene looked very different. 

“There were a lot of vegans here; There were a lot of vegan businesses,” Good Intentions co-owner Jenny Howe told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.  “And that trend kind of took a step back.”

In the mid-2010s, and continuing into the early-2020s, public interest in vegetarian and plant-based lifestyles grew exponentially—arguably sparked by an onslaught of documentaries and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Now, the cost of living has reached a record high and pushback from the Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-led Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Movement has fueled misinformation and negative associations with meatless diet staples like soy and seed oils. 

“I think that we don’t have the backing of the government like the beef and dairy industry to lobby, to make influencers eat sticks of butter and a raw piece of meat and convince hundreds of thousands of people that this is the new diet,” Howe said.

Four years later, Good Intentions is entering its final days; it’s the latest in a wave of vegan and vegetarian restaurant closures across Tampa Bay, including longtime favorites Golden Dinosaurs, 3 Dot Dash and Black Radish.

But the Tampa Bay vegan and vegetarian food scene is far from dead. For proof of life, we talked to a few owners of vegan eateries about where the industry is headed.

Click through the name of each restaurant to read more.

Jenny Howe of Nah Dogs at Indie Flea in St. Petersburg, Florida on April 2, 2023. Credit: nahdogsstpete / Facebook

Nah Dogs

While closing Good Intentions, Howe is doubling down on her beloved vegan hots with a Nah Dogs brick-and-mortar opening this summer. Why?  “Everyone loves a hot dog.”

Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay

Vegan International

Nick Alami, owner of Vegan International Co. in Tampa, also sees plant-based restaurant closures as an indicator of a broader issue. “People forget that this is not a vegan problem; this is a restaurant problem in general,” Alami told CL. “The vegan industry just happens to be highlighted because everyone just wants to poke fun and people are just waiting for another vegan restaurant to close.”

A portrait photo of Sandra Carson standing inside WeVegan Cafe in South Tampa, Florida, on June 25, 2026. Positioned center frame in a medium shot, Carson smiles warmly at the camera with hands resting on hips, long dark curly hair, and wearing a black t-shirt featuring a colorful graphic that reads "ECUADOR." The cafe interior features dark dining tables on the left, a counter with high bar stools and potted green plants on the right, and bright artwork decorating white walls in the background.Sandra Cason inside WeVegan Cafe in Tampa, Florida on June 25, 2026. Credit: Ray Roa / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay

WeVegan Eats (Cafe)

WeVegan Eats owner Sandra Carson is proud to have celebrated the cafe’s fifth anniversary this summer.  “I’m still here right now,” Carson told Creative Loafing. “And I’m just continuing to keep my blinders on and keep going and keep pushing… making sure I’m providing something to our customers that I know that they want to have.”

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This article appears in July 23 – 29, 2026.

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