{"id":83401,"date":"2024-08-19T14:36:33","date_gmt":"2024-08-19T21:36:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=83401"},"modified":"2024-08-19T14:38:29","modified_gmt":"2024-08-19T21:38:29","slug":"seabirds-kitchen-vegan-long-beach-closing-fourth-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/food\/seabirds-kitchen-vegan-long-beach-closing-fourth-street","title":{"rendered":"After 7 years of serving affordable vegan food on 4th Street, Seabirds Kitchen is closing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Seabirds Kitchen, the longtime all-vegan restaurant in the North Alamitos Beach neighborhood, will have its last day of service on Sept. 8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seabirds shared a heartfelt goodbye<\/a> on Instagram last Wednesday, expressing gratitude for the staff and customers that have sustained it over the last seven years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve loved being a part of your celebrations, your everyday meals, and your lives,\u201d part of the statement read. \u201cThe connections we\u2019ve built with you will always hold a special place in our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Link<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Originally opened in August 2017, owner and chef Stephanie Morgan attempted to keep the restaurant on Fourth Street near Bonito Avenue afloat by listing the location for sale in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morgan said the decision to close was not made lightly, but rising expenses paired with a decline in sales lingering after the pandemic led to her decision to shutter the eatery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always wanted Seabirds to provide food that was accessible, not like high-end stuff,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cThe end goal was always to change people\u2019s minds about what a plant-based meal and experience could be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Stephanie Morgan, owner, stands in her vegan restaurant, Seabirds Kitchen, which will be closing in Long Beach, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The priciest entree on the menu today is the $20 BBQ Burger. Morgan said that\u2019s almost double what an entree cost when Seabirds first opened in Long Beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of raising prices, sacrificing food quality or cutting back on labor, she chose to close, Morgan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 11-year-old Costa Mesa location will remain open, just under 20 miles away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lizzie Gill, who was having lunch with her friend Erika Govea Friday afternoon, made the over-70-mile trek from Redlands to eat at Seabirds one last time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gill began coming to the restaurant 5 years ago. Her favorite item is the gluten-free purple taquitos, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to support our mom-and-pop restaurants,\u201d Gill said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After moving to New York to pursue a career in financial service, Morgan quickly shifted gears when she switched to a vegan diet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Seabirds Kitchen, which will soon be closing, in Long Beach, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nearly two decades ago, she couldn\u2019t find many vegan-centric restaurants and decided to take the cooking into her own hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVegan at the time was not very popular,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morgan moved back to Orange County, where she was born and raised, and got her old boss to invest in a vegan food truck that she opened up with her homemade recipes in 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, she turned enough profit to open her flagship store in Costa Mesa in 2013. She moved to Long Beach not long after and discovered there weren\u2019t many places for vegans to dine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI felt that Long Beach needed better food,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cI felt like it needed to exist in this community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She found the location on Fourth Street because her boyfriend-turned-husband lived nearby on Sixth Street and Alamitos Avenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A chef works in the kitchen of Seabirds in Long Beach, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Karen Ochoa, of Compton, stopped in the restaurant for the first time on Friday afternoon. She said she was looking for a place to meet a friend for lunch and came across Seabirds Kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ochoa ordered the Seabirds\u2019 $19 Beets Me Burger \u2014 which was featured in the NY Times<\/a> \u2014 containing a house-made beet, shitake and chia patty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Zippy Fries, featuring vegan cheese and grilled ancho mushrooms, are also a fan-favorite for $14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morgan said she has spent the majority of her time at the Long Beach location over the last seven years. She had this parting message:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSupport the restaurants that you love,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cI know it\u2019s hard, but if you can go, dine in instead of ordering online.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seabirds Kitchen, at 975 E. Fourth Street, will have its last day of service on Sept. 8. It is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for Wednesday when it is closed. On Saturday and Sunday, it\u2019s open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Instead of raising prices, sacrificing food quality or cutting back on labor, owner Stephanie Morgan decided to shut down the Long Beach location.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23521,"featured_media":83398,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[139,44],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32323],"class_list":["post-83401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","tag-restaurant-closure","tag-vegan","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83401"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83409,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83401\/revisions\/83409"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83401"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=83401"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=83401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}