Beloved vegan restaurant VelTree announces it will close
VelTree Vegan, which moved last December from University City to Ballantyne Village with big plans for expansion, is the latest victim of the Covid pandemic. The owners on Thursday announced on Instagram their plans to close just before Christmas.
“2020/21 and the pandemic devastated the restaurant industry especially small businesses, but because of our faith we continued to press through, but No one could know the full impact that Covid would leave on businesses around the world,” wrote chef Velvet “Vel” Kelty-Jacobs, who owns the restaurant with her wife, Treona “Tree” Kelty-Jacobs.
Inflation, staffing shortages and supply chain issues “created a recipe for a perfect storm, that has led to our decision to close the restaurant,” she wrote.
The restaurant, which received accolades from celebrities such as Anthony Hamilton, Erykah Badu and Nick Cannon and has been named a top restaurant by PETA, will close its doors for the last time Dec. 23.
VelTree opened in 2018, becoming the city’s first Black-woman-owned vegan soul food café.
“First, let me say thank you to everyone that have supported us from day one. When we opened in 2018 we had no idea of the levels of success we would reach,” Kelty-Jacobs wrote.
CharlotteFive featured VelTree in an article this summer, in which the women recognized they had something special.
“As Black, LGBTQ+ business owners — and women of faith — we recognize that we represent many communities and we can positively impact their lives just by being here,” Kelty-Jacobs said.
They had planned to use the restaurant as a platform to give back to the community. The new, larger Ballantyne site offered more room for open mic nights, karaoke, yoga workshops and other special programming, as well as networking events.
But recently, VelTree has had to close multiple times due to staffing issues. On Dec. 7, the restaurant thanked customers for their patience. It added, “We are not feeling well and as with many businesses right now we’re already short-staffed which makes it impossible to open and run the store efficiently.”
Editor’s note: This story is developing and may be updated.
VelTree, The Vegan Experience
Location: 14825 Ballantyne Village Way, #150, Charlotte, NC 28277
Hours: Open Tuesday-Sunday; closed Mondays
Instagram: @veltreevegan
This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 5:09 PM.
