PORTLAND, Ore. — One of Portland's long-running vegan restaurants has officially closed. Blossoming Lotus Restaurant shut its doors this week after nearly 20 years in the Rose City.
On April 1, the restaurant abruptly announced its closure, which was initially slated for Thursday. The timing of their announcement, coinciding with April Fools' Day, caused some people to question the legitimacy of the closure. But the restaurant reaffirmed that it would close for good.
"We would like to give a HUGE thank you to all of you who have supported us over the years! We will miss serving you very much," the restaurant said on its Instagram page on Monday.
A day after the announcement, Blossoming Lotus Restaurant said it had to close on Wednesday, earlier than expected, because an influx in customers caused them to run out of food.
Known for its whole-food dishes and local, organic ingredients, Blossoming Lotus Restaurant opened its first location in Kauai, Hawaii. It expanded to Portland in 2005, opening a location inside a yoga studio called Yoga Pearl in the Pearl District. Several years later, the restaurant moved to its own brick-and-mortar building on Northeast 15th Avenue and Northeast Broadway in the Irvington neighborhood.
A Latin fusion restaurant called Bandito's will take over the space on Northeast 15th Avenue and Northeast Broadway, according to Blossoming Lotus Restaurant, and will offer vegan options.
Blossoming Lotus Cafe, a counter-service cafe and juice bar located on Northeast Quimby Street, is run by a different owner and is still in business.
Download the KGW News app: Download for iPhone here | Download for Android here
Stream newscasts for free on KGW+ on Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV: How to add app to your device here
See a typo in this article? Email web@kgw.com for corrections
