A San Luis Obispo restaurant that specialized in southwestern style flavors with local produce has closed its doors after two years in business.
The Vegetable Butcher, which is located at 712 Marsh Street in San Luis Obispo, announced Wednesday on Facebook that they were closed as of Monday.
“A warm thank you to all our patrons for the last two years of business,” the post reads. “We love SLO and will miss it dearly. Thank you to all our AMAZING guests!”
The restaurant’s former executive chef, Becky Windels, said the decision to close was based in part because of challenges presented by ongoing construction on the hotel downtown as well as traffic issues customers experienced.
“Many of my friends complained to me that the parking issues downtown was preventing them from visiting our and other SLO businesses in our core,” Windels said in a statement. “I never have a hard time finding a parking space other than Farmers Market nights. But what is hurting many downtown businesses is the perception that there is no parking. This is a matter that should concern our community and city leaders.”
Windels said there was an opportunity to leave the lease after two years, which she and her business partner decided was best.
Though she could not say which business, Windels indicated a well-liked restaurant was planning to fill the space vacated by the Vegetable Butcher.
In November, Vegetable Butcher helped people evacuated by California wildfires by offering them a free family-style Thanksgiving meal.
The restaurant’s menu included offerings like forbidden sesame cauliflower, ancho chocolate turkey mole, and blue cornbread.
