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Kevin Hart's vegan restaurant chain closes all locations: report

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Published  September 12, 2024 7:09pm EDT
Restaurants
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LOS ANGELES - After two years in the restaurant scene, Kevin Hart's plant-based restaurant chain appears to be calling it quits. 

Hart House abruptly closed all four locations on Sept. 10, Eater LA reports. The vegan restaurant chain first debuted in 2022 with Hart promoting his vegan lifestyle.

Hart House CEO Andy Hooper confirmed the news to Eater in a written statement: "The response to the product has been incredible, and we thank our committed team, our customers, and our community partners for helping make the change we all craved, and for their unwavering support of Hart House."

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Hart revealed in 2020 he adopted a "mostly plant-based diet" and started working with Hooper to develop a fast-food brand that would sell food for under $8, Eater reported.

Kevin Hart attends Peacock's "Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist" World Premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center on September 04, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

Hart House opened its first location in Westchester in 2022. 

The flagship Hart House opened in May 2023 on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue. It featured a drive-thru intended to be replicated for future stores.

It's unclear why Hart House suddenly shuttered the doors to all locations. 

In July, a new California law boosted the hourly wage for fast food workers on April 1 from $16 to $20 an hour.

As a result, many major fast food chain operators said they began cutting hours and raising prices to stay in business.

The mandatory raise applies to all fast food restaurants in California that are part of a chain with at least 60 locations nationwide. It does not apply to restaurants that operate a bakery and sell bread as a stand-alone menu item, such as Panera Bread. 

Several eateries, particularly pizza chains, revealed plans to cut jobs, in an effort to get ahead of the possible financial repercussions, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

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Last year, multiple Pizza Hut franchises in California filed notices to comply with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, saying they were discontinuing their delivery services. Many of the services were delivery driver jobs. 

Several major fast-food franchises, including McDonald’s and Chipotle, have already signaled that prices will have to rise in response to the increased labor costs.