Plant-based eating options in San Antonio are dwindling, as an Alamo Quarry Market restaurant prepares to close next month.
After 19 years of service, Green Vegetarian Cuisine is permanently closing its door on April 17, chief and co-owner Mike Behrend said in a statement on Facebook. Behrend mentioned the past few years have been “especially brutal for the industry.”
“It’s been a great run,” Behrend wrote. “We’ve introduced a lot of people to great-tasting plant-based food.”
Rising costs and change in consumer behavior in the past five years led to the decision to close, he said. Until its April expiration date, the business will remain open for its regular operating hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
The eatery offers affordable vegetarian comfort food, like an orange tofu bowl, eggplant parmesan, and tomatillo enchiladas. It also offers crowd pleasers like fried pickles, nachos and truffle parmesan fries.
The restaurant serves up meat-free burgers, with its owners operating the vegetarian fast food joint Earth Burger. The North Side burger stop at Park North Shopping Center, near the intersection of NW Loop 410 and Blanco Road, will remain open. As the former owner of Lulu’s Bakery & Cafe, Behrend also sells Lulu’s cinnamon rolls at Green Vegetarian.
Green Vegetarian has served San Antonians throughout the Alamo City. The restaurant opened in 2007 in Five Points, before moving to the Pearl in early 2013. In 2021, it relocated to where it currently stands at the Quarry. A second location opened in Alon Town Centre in 2011, though it closed in 2023.
“My business partners and I have raised our children in and around Green, supporting the community with food and help over the years,” Behrend said. “Our hope is that we have made a positive impact on San Antonio.”