Vancouver is about to lose its second plant-based sushi room in a month, and this one has no new address yet.
Vegan Shoku, the all-plant-based Japanese restaurant at in Kerrisdale, is closing its current room and looking for a new one.
The team announced it on Instagram on September 2 with a thank-you note to regulars and first-timers alike.
“Our last day of business is October 8th,” the caption reads, while the graphic above it prints September 29 as the last day and the deadline to use gift certificates.
The one date that appears in both places is September 29, so treat that as the cutoff for any gift card in your drawer.
The team says it will also refund the remaining value in full for anyone who cannot make it in.
This is not framed as a final goodbye.
“We hope to see all of you one day in our new location after we are well rested and recharged,” the caption says.
And when a commenter asked whether this was a see-you-later rather than a goodbye, the account replied, “yes, we will see you later.”
No new address or timeline has been announced.
Vegan Shoku opened in early April 2023 in the unit that had housed Irashai Sushi, a neighbourhood standby for conventional sushi before the switch.
The owner and chef goes by George, has 25 years of experience and Vegan Shoku was his fifth restaurant.
The menu he built runs deeper than most plant-based sushi counters in the city.
There is a full vegan sashimi section, salmon and tuna style, alongside pressed oshizushi, ramen with vegan beef or chicken, and lunch and dinner boxes.
The rolls are the draw for most people, from the basic avocado and cucumber maki up to vegan versions of the California and Dynamite rolls.
Two of them are named for the neighbourhood: the Vine Street Roll, with yam tempura, mango and yam sticks in a soy wrap, and the Kerrisdale Roll, with vegan crab, yam tempura, avocado and tobiko.
The room holds a 4.8-star rating on Google from more than 600 reviews, and the comments under the closing post read like a neighbourhood losing a regular table.
“Whattttt noooo,” wrote one local bakery.
The timing is the part that stings for plant-based eaters.
On August 20, COFU announced its original Granville Island pressed sushi shop closes September 28, with the sushi moving to its Chinatown room.
That means two of Vancouver’s plant-based sushi rooms go dark within ten days of each other, and only one of them has a next address.
Vegan Shoku joins the list of recently closed food spots in Vancouver like Master Bao, Sushi Aboard and Unni Pastries.
For more new and upcoming food spots in Metro Vancouver, take a peek at our tracker here, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
Address: 2260 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver, BC (Kerrisdale)
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