ANN ARBOR, MI — An Ann Arbor vegan deli has closed permanently after nearly six years.
Vedge Café, 205 N. Main St., announced in a Facebook post in mid-August that the restaurant would close.
“Due to some life circumstances and rising costs of everything, we unfortunately cannot continue on. It’s been such a pleasure serving the community for nearly six years,” the owners wrote in the Facebook post.
“I’ve enjoyed getting to know so many of you, from seeing customers graduate college, have kids, get married, and even retiring. It always warms my soul when someone comes in excited to share a piece of your life with me.”
Amanda Ratke opened the café in 2016 with her husband to show restaurant goers vegan food “can be tasty and can satisfy the omnivores just as much as the vegans and vegetarians,” she previously said.
Read more: Vedge Cafe bringing homemade, vegan touches to Ann Arbor food scene
Vedge Café served a variety of vegan deli sandwiches, including a French dip, Irish Reuben and gyros, as well as salads, desserts and more. The café’s meat substitutes were made from scratch, using a spiced dough.
Best sellers included the Irish Reuben, which had corned “feeb,” sauerkraut, vegan Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing served on either toasted rye or whole wheat bread, and the chopped barbecue tofu salad, which featured barbecue marinated tofu, avocado, black beans and house-made barbecue ranch dressing.
Read more: Michigan’s Best Local Eats: Vedge Café surprises skeptics with vegan French dip, Irish reuben
Ratke shared recipes for the “infamous potato salad” and vegan mayo in the closure announcement.
The café shut down in mid-August, according to social media. Ratke did not respond to a request for comment on the closure.
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