Longtime vegan fast-casual favorite HipCityVeg appears to have quietly shuttered its Chinatown counter near Capital One Arena, leaving the District with no open HipCityVeg storefront. The change, flagged by readers and neighborhood message boards this week, has regulars wondering when their go-to vegan burgers and shakes disappeared.
Reader tips and a neighborhood post
On July 9 a reader-sourced item reported that the HipCityVeg at 712 7th Street NW has closed "without announcement." PoPville noted that tips indicate the Chinatown spot went dark sometime in the last week and that patrons had already noticed earlier D.C. outposts had disappeared.
Company listings still show the location
HipCityVeg's official website still lists a Chinatown address and hours, which suggests the company had not posted a public closure notice as of this morning. The chain's Washington DC page continues to include the Chinatown storefront and delivery options, and the site highlights multiple Philadelphia restaurants as the brand's active footprint; see HipCityVeg's Washington DC page.
What locals are saying
Neighborhood message boards and Reddit threads show confusion and disappointment. Posters report Google and delivery apps marked the Chinatown address as closed, and some say they received confirmation when they called. A running discussion on r/vegdc contains firsthand posts from customers and former staff expressing surprise and asking whether the chain will consolidate back to Philadelphia.
A shrinking footprint
The Chinatown news would leave HipCityVeg with no D.C. storefront after the chain retrenched in recent years. The Dupont Circle location closed in early 2023 and the Navy Yard outpost closed in November 2023. Eater DC documented the Dupont closure, and PoPville covered the Navy Yard shutdown last November.
We have reached out to HipCityVeg for comment and will update this story if the company responds. For now, regulars who relied on the Chinatown counter for late-night vegan burgers and shakes are left to watch for any official word, or to make a trip back to the chain's Philadelphia locations.
