The restaurant suffered fire and water damage as the firefighters were forced to flood the kitchen. (Miguel Paz)
A May 13 fire in the 1st Avenue NE building housing the Herbivorous Butcher restaurant has brought the business to a temporary halt. The building is shared with other businesses, including an office space located above the kitchen. The fire began in the floor of that office and caused extensive damage to the restaurant’s ceilings, ventilation systems and walls; firefighters needed to flood the floors to keep the flames from spreading.
Restaurant co-owner Aubry Walch said, “The fire was a devastating blow for us. The rebuild process hasn’t even begun because the fire is still under investigation and some of our best months of business for the year are ticking away.” She said they are no longer shipping orders and expect to remain closed through July. They will share updates as they happen, adding that the level of uncertainty about re-opening “weighs on us daily.”
Walch noted that, following the fire, they were able to distribute the meats and cheeses already produced for current shipping and wholesale orders. After inspection by the Minneapolis Department of Health, the refrigerated products were permitted to be sold.
The shop is looking into the possibility of resuming production for wholesale distribution and will be making announcements through its social media channels, newsletter and text alerts. While the business had insurance, it may have difficulty meeting additional expenses such as ongoing salaries for the employees. Permanent full-time employees receive medical & dental insurance, PTO, select paid holidays, life insurance and supplemental benefits. A GoFundMe account has been set up, with over $53,000 currently donated.
The Herbivorous Butcher is owned by siblings Aubry and Kale Walch. They founded the vegan food business in 2014, selling their handmade vegan meats and cheeses at local farmers’ markets. Two years later, they’d created enough of a demand to open The Herbivorous Butcher in January 2016. It was celebrated as the first completely vegan butcher shop in the nation, offering a wide variety of plant-based meat and dairy-free cheese alternatives, including items like maple-glazed bacon and Sriracha brats. The restaurant’s unique approach to animal-free food products has made it notable in Northeast Minneapolis. The Walches also operated Herbie Butcher’s Fried Chicken in South Minneapolis from 2021 until its closure on March 30, 2025. In 2023, they acquired J. Selby’s, an all-vegan restaurant in St. Paul.
Asked what readers should know about the shop’s future, Aubry said, “We’re committed to coming back. Our goal is to be up and running in time for this year’s Minnesota State Fair, and that’s going to require a full rebuild of our kitchen and workspace. The GoFundMe will help. … And allow us to retain our amazing staff and give us the tools we need to reopen stronger than ever.”
Walch said that while the wait has been long and unbearable at times, “We built the store once and I know we can and will do it again.”
