Romeo's Vegan Burgers, the drive-thru that introduced Charlotte to plant-based fast food, is closing its South Boulevard location within the next few months as its lease comes to an end. Owners say the closure will not be the end of the brand in Charlotte, but rather a transition to a new home somewhere else in the city.
According to the Charlotte Observer, co-founder Monty “Tigo B.” Faulkner said the South Boulevard restaurant, located at 5518 South Blvd, will close by November. Faulkner and business partner Lamont Heath shared the news in an Instagram video, telling followers the pair have experienced “many ups and downs over the last five years” running the business. The Observer reports that Romeo's plans to find a new Charlotte location and expects to share more details in the coming weeks, though there could be some downtime between leaving the current lease and opening the next spot.
Romeo's began in 2020 as a food truck before opening its South Boulevard brick-and-mortar restaurant on December 18, 2021, becoming Charlotte's first plant-based drive-thru, according to Axios. The concept came out of an unlikely pivot: Faulkner, a Raleigh-raised hip-hop artist, and his manager Heath had just landed a record label deal when COVID-19 lockdowns brought live performances and studio sessions to a halt, and the pair turned instead to testing vegan burger recipes and house-made sauces at home, according to CLTure.
A Regional Footprint That Later Contracted
The South Boulevard restaurant's five-year run marked the flagship of a brand that once stretched across North Carolina. Romeo's expanded to Greensboro's Tate Street corridor near UNC Greensboro in July 2022, becoming that city's first 100 percent plant-based fast-food restaurant, per Triad City Beat's coverage of the opening — a move Heath, a Greensboro native, made to bring plant-based fast food to his hometown's university crowd.
The chain also opened a location in Asheville at 640 Merrimon Avenue in 2022, sharing space with a local ice cream shop, but that store closed in early 2024, according to a Reddit thread documenting the closure. The Observer's report confirms Romeo's has already closed its Asheville location as part of the broader downsizing that preceded this latest South Boulevard announcement.
What's on the Menu, and What's Next
Romeo's built its menu around a 100 percent plant-based lineup, including its signature Where Art Thou Romeo Burger, using Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods patties alongside Follow Your Heart vegan cheese and house-made sauces, according to Vkind. That familiar fast-food format helped the brand build a following among strict vegans and curious meat-eaters alike.
Even with the South Boulevard doors closing, the Romeo's food truck that started it all in 2020 is still on the road, making regional stops in Raleigh and Columbia, South Carolina, per the Observer's report. Faulkner and Heath have said the brand intends to remain in Charlotte rather than end its operations here, framing the South Boulevard exit as a strategic step rather than a shutdown.
South Boulevard's Shifting Restaurant Scene
Romeo's departure adds to a string of changes along the South Boulevard corridor, where rising property values have squeezed longtime independent restaurants. Nikko Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar closed in August after 27 years in Charlotte, originating on South Boulevard, once its building sold for $4 million. That closure followed news that The Station at LoSo office towers sold for $91.75 million in August, underscoring how dense redevelopment near LYNX light rail stations has driven up real estate costs along the corridor.
Charlotte's vegan dining scene has evolved considerably since Bean Vegan Cuisine opened on East Independence Boulevard in June 2012 as the city's first all-vegan, sit-down Southern comfort food restaurant. The shift from that early sit-down model to fast-casual drive-thrus like Romeo's reflects how plant-based dining in Charlotte has grown over more than a decade.
Romeo's isn't the only plant-based chain rethinking its brick-and-mortar footprint this year. Black-owned burger chain Slutty Vegan relocated its Baltimore storefront away from the waterfront to chase high foot traffic near Johns Hopkins Hospital, a move Hoodline covered as part of a wider pattern of vegan fast-food brands adjusting real estate strategy amid rising overhead costs.
For now, Romeo's fans in Charlotte have a countdown clock rather than a farewell. The South Boulevard restaurant is expected to remain open through the next few months before closing by November, with the food truck continuing to serve the region and a new brick-and-mortar location still to be announced.
