Local vegan cafe closes after ‘mixing business with pleasure’
There’s been some confusion surrounding a vegan cafe on the South Side, but the owner posted a video to social media to hopefully clear up some details.
A couple of weeks ago, 614Now reported that Hidden Leaf Cafe, located at 181 E. Innis Ave., announced they were permanently closed via social media, but then rescinded the statement, stating that their account was hacked.
The owner said in her video statement that in fact, she was the one to post that they were closed, and when she realized she wanted to make the restaurant work, she thought it would be easiest to just say they were hacked.
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But now, Hidden Leaf is permanently closed, for real this time.
“It got out of hand,” said the video. She explained that she mixed “business with pleasure” with her business partner. “Everyone thought we were dating, but we were not. I made that very clear to everyone who asked, and to him. When I wanted to end the pleasure side of the relationship and keep it strictly on business, things got out of control.”
She said she was willing to continue Hidden Leaf with another chef. However, a “For Sale” sign has been outside of the cafe for months now. “The landlords want to sell the building because we’re far behind on rent,” she admitted in the video. “I didn’t get any loans or grants to start this business. Just pure help and working 2 full time jobs.
The cafe, which is known for alkaline vegan fare surrounded by anime-themed decor, will not be reopening in that space. The restaurant has already packed up and moved out. The owner said that a friend is allowing her to use his kitchen to still continue cooking vegan food.
“So, if you want me to continue to serve you in a different space, different way, with different people, I will do it,” she said in the video.
Dozens of comments on the video have asked her to continue to stay open in another capacity.
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