Flacos Tacos, for years a go-to spot for vegan Mexican food in Berkeley, is closing its brick-and-mortar location on Dec. 30, 2023.

We want to thank all of the people who have given us the chance to serve them and make it this far but as of now, we can no longer sustain our relationship to our community and people, the restaurant posted on Instagram. (The news was first reported by Berkeleyside.)

Flacos started off as a farmers market stand in 2001 and soon moved into a charming little hut by the Ashby BART station. Founder Antonio Magaa grew up enjoying the traditional family recipes from his Abuelitas Carmen & Santos Chata,' according to the restaurants website. As a child, he and his siblings would help his mother in the kitchen, and these memories inspired the creation of Flacos. He took those dishes and replaced all the animal ingredients with vegetarian-based substitutes.

As of Dec. 28, the fundraiser had collected $5,476 of a $20,000 goal.

Its been a rather brutal year for vegan spots in the Bay Area. Among the restaurants that shuttered are VeganBurg in San Francisco, the vegan-friendly Pizza Flora in San Jose, and Souley Vegan and the brick-and-mortar location of Vegan Mob both in Oakland.

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Another Bay Area vegan restaurant bites the dust, this time in Berkeley - The Mercury News