A vegan restaurant in England has added meat to its menu in what it says is a “difficult but necessary” decision to survive.
However, this has drawn ire from commenters online, who decry the move as an unnecessary compromise to the vegan ethos.
Citing the limitations of its vegan menu, Nomas Gastrobar said in a Facebook post on Jan 23 that it was increasingly difficult for the business in Macclesfield near Manchester to financially thrive due to its offerings drawing “only a small number of customers”.
“In response to these challenges, we have made the difficult yet necessary decision to introduce a thoughtfully curated selection of high-quality, responsibly sourced meat and dairy options to our menu,” it said.
“This change will allow us to cater to the diverse tastes of our cherished customers and ensure that everyone can find something wonderful to eat and enjoy at our establishment.”
Its new menu, which will be introduced about two weeks after the announcement, will still feature vegan options for most of its offerings, with “a few meat alternatives”. According to The Guardian, this includes gyros (Greek kebab), as well as a salad made with feta cheese, instead of a coconut-based substitute.
Mr Adonis Norouznia, who is a vegan himself, opened the cafe in May 2020. He told English publisher Confidentials that the restaurant did well after it opened, despite higher costs for vegan alternatives to regular products. However, competition began heating up after more vegan restaurants opened, and he has been losing customers.
Mr Norouznia said that in the seven years he has been in the town of Macclesfield, Nomas Gastrobar has been the fourth vegan restaurant there to begin offering meat, as fully vegan offerings would target only “5 per cent of the market”.
Following its announcement, the restaurant received comments from Facebook users who said they were disappointed by the move.
“Now you’re just like any other gastrobar and have reinforced to the non-plant based community that ethics can be compromised for profits and that animals come second to human greed,” said Facebook user Saffron Hughes.
Facebook user Gregg Patterson commented: “So you were against murdering animals, and now you’re pro murdering animals.”
However, there were those who supported the restaurant.
“Thanks for doing us proud for so long and no hate from this vegan,” said commenter Claire Risley.
Calling it a “brilliant idea”, netizen Shannon Lancaster said: “The amount of customers you will gain from this will far outweigh those individuals that wish to take their business elsewhere.”
In a post later that day, the restaurant addressed the reactions to its announcement, thanking those who have shown it support. It also assured customers that it had exhausted its options – including offering deals, new products and even garnering media coverage – before arriving at the controversial decision to serve meat.
“We’ve found it pretty astonishing some of the nastiness in the comments. We have made this choice out of a place of survival for our family-run business and seeing people who are meant to ‘love all beings’ being awful to each other has really been upsetting,” it said.
