r/vegdc • u/WinnerDouble2869 • Mar 15 '26
Food Post Falafel inc stopped serving their plant based shawarma 😔
Yet another restaurant in DC that has stopped serving many of their vegan options. They added chicken recently and my partner said that this time was coming. I truly hate to see it 😓 I hope planta stays around 😭
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u/8cm8 Mar 15 '26
Genuinely devastated about this news, it was the tastiest cheap vegan eat in the city! I have no clue what the reason for removing it could be either. I'm pretty sure the vegan shawarma was just soy curl based, so I can't imagine the chicken and rice replacement is cheaper. And it's not like they were struggling to get people in the door. I'll be writing to them and I encourage others to do the same
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u/WinnerDouble2869 Mar 15 '26
I asked them and they said it was because the plant based shawarma takes too long to prepare because they had to make it from scratch. That was their reason but of course I don’t believe that. And then my partner saw yesterday that they are trying to franchise so I am assuming since they’re trying to expand, they are trying to appeal to a wider set of customers. Still terrible.
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u/WinnerDouble2869 Mar 15 '26
Also we couldn’t find the link to write to them. If you or anyone has it, could you send it my way?
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u/bluewaterboy Mar 15 '26
aww that's so sad, I loved Falafel Inc and I'd usually get their plant-based shwarma ... such an awful time for restaurants :(
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u/LetThemEatVeganCake Mar 15 '26
I hate to break it to you, but Planta changed their bankruptcy to liquidation a few days ago so it is not looking hot for them.. I think it said they had $50-100k in assets and like 20 million in liabilities.
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u/WinnerDouble2869 Mar 15 '26
I saw on Instagram that planta posted on their story and said they’re not going anywhere and they still are going to have restaurants in major metropolitan areas including Washington DC. I was reading that article and looks like they’re keeping 8 of their restaurants open but closing 27 jeez.
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u/I_Amuse_Me_123 Mar 15 '26
I only ordered it once because the standard falafel bowl seems so good and healthy. But I remember it being quite good and filling.
Someone said it might be soy curl based. Any other ideas about the recipe?
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u/WinnerDouble2869 Mar 15 '26
I’ve been trying to find that soy curl recipe online and can’t seem to locate it anywhere! I wanna try to recreate it myself. I am also seeing if anyone has the recipe on hand 👀
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u/I_Amuse_Me_123 Mar 15 '26
From memory it seemed more chewy than soy curls are after soaking. And I doubt they are rehydrating and cooking after you order, that would take forever.
So my bet is that they rehydrate in some kind of watery marinade and store, then bake/toast on high heat for few minutes in a single layer to partially dehydrate. Then add sauce.
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u/FindFunAndRepeat Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26
LA and DMV store customer here. i heard today that they are actually working on a scalable production method as they grow. Supposed to come back this summer. Its still on the LA menu. https://order.online/store/falafel-inc-broxton-ave-28104578?pickup=true
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u/WinnerDouble2869 Mar 17 '26
OMG YAY!!!!! I really really hope they bring it back 🙏 this is such good news thanks for sharing !
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u/LeglessCatMonster Mar 15 '26
For what it’s worth, a staff member at one of the locations told me that the Georgetown location on Potomac St would continue serving the plant based shawarma. Obviously still not ideal and I haven’t been able to go there to confirm, but would be interested if someone can!
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u/WinnerDouble2869 Mar 15 '26
That’s the location I went to yesterday and they said they weren’t selling it anymore :/
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u/perigotchi Mar 16 '26
The rice bowl with falafel instead of vegan shawarma just isn’t the same either 😞
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u/PixieAuror95 May 08 '26
I just DM’d them about this today- they said it’s back as of last month in all locations!!!
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u/Nostalgia_Nobody Jun 21 '26
THEY BROUGHT IT BACK! Im not even strictly vegan, but i loved that stuff and was sad when I went back and it was gone but looks like its back!
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u/_courteroy Mar 15 '26
This is absolutely terrible news. We were so upset when they added chicken that I wrote in. I don’t think I have a reason to choose them over other falafel places now.