Laughing Seed Cafe in Downtown Asheville, NC is closing after 32 years

Laughing Seed Cafe, a popular vegetarian/vegan cafe located at 40 Wall Street in Downtown Asheville, North Carolina is closing after 32 years. In an emotional letter on Facebook, the team showed their love for their loyal customers and the community by saying:

Dear Friends,

For 32 years it has been our honor to serve you the healthy and creative vegetarian & vegan cuisine Laughing Seed has come to be known for. When we look back over the years of dedication and hard work, we’re so proud of it all, but we are now approaching the end of our journey. We have made the difficult and very bittersweet decision to permanently close our beloved Laughing Seed on May 31st. As many of you know we are a family-owned restaurant, and we no longer have the time, energy, or motivation to continue to operate such a demanding business in these challenging times. It’s been a rough 5 years since Covid and they have really taken their toll in terms of costs, staffing, downtown issues, and our drive to keep going. We hoped we could come back from Helene in a positive way, but have decided it’s more than we can manage as summer approaches. Times have changed, we’ve changed, Asheville has changed, and the reality is that we need to bow out and head toward our next adventure.

Our heartfelt thanks to the hundreds of talented staff members who have contributed to our success over the years, and of course to our incredibly devoted customers. It is so hard to know we will not be there for you when you next crave a Harmony Bowl or Hempnut Burger, but we strongly feel that now is the right time for us to move on. We hope you will stop by for a last Laughing Seed fix and to say goodbye. To our current staff, thank you so much for coming back after Helene, in spite of the uncertainty, and making the best of a changed world. We are so sorry to bring things to a close and will do our best to assist and support you during this transition.

Our hope is that another wonderful restaurant will move into the space that we’ve called home for so many years and keep the magic alive at 40 Wall St. For any inquiries please email Joan at laughingseed.joan@gmail.com.

We love you, Asheville. It’s been a great run. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over the years. Peace, love, and harmony bowls to all! 

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