Santana's Vegan Grill has closed its doors at 5609 N. Academy Blvd. in Colorado Springs, the restaurant announced in a social media post on Nov. 2. The eatery, known for its vegan substitutes for eggs, sausage, cheese and burgers, said it had officially shut down operations at the address.
According to SideDish Schniper, Santana's posted on Nov. 2 to say it had officially shut down operations at 5609 N. Academy Blvd. In its post, the restaurant said it had enjoyed serving the city and valued the community's support, and it expressed excitement about a new account, asking friends and family to follow along, according to FOX21 News Colorado.
A Winding Path Across North Academy Boulevard
Santana's Vegan Grill was originally located on Austin Bluffs Parkway, west of North Academy Boulevard, before later moving to its North Academy Boulevard address south of Vickers Drive, per FOX21 News Colorado's reporting. A 2025 report from the Gazette described a different chronology for the restaurant's early years, saying owner Dusty Hernandez opened his first eatery in April 2018 in a former drive-thru kiosk at Union and Academy boulevards before moving by September of that year into a larger sit-down restaurant at 3220 Austin Bluffs Parkway. SideDish Schniper's account differs further, reporting that Santana's had operated for a stint at 3220 Austin Bluffs Parkway and had launched in 2018 from a drive-thru at 5046 N. Academy Blvd. The exact sequence of the restaurant's earliest locations is not settled across these accounts.
That same Gazette report from August 2025 said Hernandez planned to downsize to a smaller takeout operation to cut leasing costs and overhead, with a goal of opening at 5609 N. Academy Blvd. by the first week of September.
Other Local Vegan Spots Have Faced Similar Struggles
Santana's is not the only Colorado Springs-area vegan business to close recently. Fern's Diner & Drinkery in Cascade announced it would shut down after nearly two years in business, with Aug. 11, 2024 as its last day, according to the Gazette. Owners Tyler Schiedel and Cody Rilo cited the diner's location as the reason for the closure and said they planned to put the property and diner up for sale. The pair still own and operate The Burrowing Owl, a Colorado Springs vegan restaurant that has been open since 2015.
Restaurant closures more broadly have been hitting the Colorado Springs area. Momma Pearl's Cajun Kitchen announced its permanent closure on June 17, and owner Robert Brunet told FOX21 News that his monthly taxes had increased by $1,000, squeezing an already slim profit margin, while visits to the restaurant had declined over the prior six months. A Colorado Restaurant Association director told the station that closures were happening statewide, pointing to a heavy regulatory burden over the past four years — including paid family medical leave, paid sick leave and hiring rules — and noting that Colorado had the worst restaurant inflation in the country the previous year.
A National Pattern Among Vegan Restaurants
The contraction extends beyond Colorado. HappyCow data cited by Vox showed vegan restaurant counts in New York City, Los Angeles and Portland fell between 21 and 25 percent from 2022 to late 2024. A Vegan Society report found HappyCow listed 1,717 all-vegan restaurants nationwide in October 2025, a number that had dropped to 1,509 by the time the article was written. Vox described the sector as going through a contraction amid the lingering effects of the pandemic and, possibly, a cultural shift away from plant-based dining.
Notable closures elsewhere include Modern Love and Candle in New York City, the Vegan Joint in Los Angeles, and Millennium in Oakland, which later reopened as a smaller operation, per Vox's reporting. Mad Rabbit Cafe, a fully vegan restaurant in Madison, also closed after three years despite its owner saying it had turned a profit every year it was open. None of this broader context establishes a specific cause for Santana's own closure in Colorado Springs.
