{"id":1996,"date":"2026-06-13T10:03:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T10:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1996"},"modified":"2026-06-13T10:03:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T10:03:29","slug":"beloved-tucson-vegan-restaurant-may-close-after-20-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1996","title":{"rendered":"Beloved Tucson vegan restaurant may close after 20 years"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Lovin\u2019 Spoonfuls, a beloved vegan restaurant in midtown Tucson, may close its doors after more than two decades.<\/p>\n

Read more YouTuber accused of erecting \u2018pee tent\u2019 in Nancy Guthrie\u2019s neighborhood released after second arrest<\/a><\/p>\n

Owner Michelle Cornett said the financial strain has become unsustainable as businesses across the country face rising costs and inflation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had to get loans out, and it just, it keeps building up, and it\u2019s been three months since my husband\u2019s got paid, and gone through the savings, and there\u2019s nothing else we can put into it,\u201d Cornett said.<\/p>\n

The restaurant has faced mounting pressure from record inflation rates that have hit already thin margins for vegan establishments.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of our products are more expensive to begin with. You know, we\u2019re having to use like specialty products,\u201d said Lovin\u2019 Spoonfuls Chef John Paul Lopez.<\/p>\n

Those increased costs forced the restaurant to shorten its normal business hours in January. Now facing closure, Cornett said it would take a Hail Mary to keep the restaurant open.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust the relationships that I\u2019ve built, or that we\u2019ve built since we\u2019ve been here- that\u2019s gonna be the hardest part if we close: not seeing those people,\u201d Cornett said.<\/p>\n

Lovin\u2019 Spoonfuls is not alone. Brother John\u2019s BBQ closed its doors this week after 11 years, moving to strictly catering services and citing similar rising costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the last 18 months, we\u2019ve seen a significant drop for the first time since we opened. And this year we\u2019re almost down 25% from last year,\u201d said John Aldecoa, part owner of Brother John\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Dr. Tirthankar Roy, a University of Arizona marketing professor, said brick-and-mortar restaurants face the steepest challenges amid an inflation rate that is over a percent higher than normal.<\/p>\n

Read more Mother of boy stabbed to death at Maryvale High school plans to sue for $28 million<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe full-service restaurants, they are the ones with the larger fixed costs, the larger overhead costs, and they are the ones who are probably being affected, uh, the most now,\u201d Roy said.<\/p>\n

Roy said the rise in remote jobs has cut down on the usual lunch rush and post-work dinner rush. He said the outlook for the industry remains difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see any simple fix for their problems given the current, you know, economic climate and the way consumers are changing their consumption habits,\u201d Roy said.<\/p>\n

While Roy said restaurants can try to adapt to the changing customer consumption habits, Lopez said community support is critical to keeping local restaurants open.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have flavors in Tucson that you\u2019re not gonna get anywhere else, and if people aren\u2019t supporting that, that\u2019s all gonna go away. You know, it can\u2019t be recreated,\u201d Lopez said.<\/p>\n

Cornett said the restaurant needs to raise $62,000 to stay afloat. A GoFundMe<\/b><\/i> has been set up to support the business.<\/p>\n

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Lovin\u2019 Spoonfuls, a vegan restaurant in midtown Tucson, may close its doors after more than 20 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nBeloved Tucson vegan restaurant may close after 20 years - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1996\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Beloved Tucson vegan restaurant may close after 20 years - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lovin\u2019 Spoonfuls, a vegan restaurant in midtown Tucson, may close its doors after more than 20 years.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1996\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-13T10:03:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1996#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1996\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"Beloved Tucson vegan restaurant may close after 20 years\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-13T10:03:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1996\"},\"wordCount\":568,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1996#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/fe6ca77494e4b09c87ea37a674739803.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1996#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1996\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1996\",\"name\":\"Beloved Tucson vegan restaurant may close after 20 years - 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