HADDON TOWNSHIP, N.J. – The restaurant Goodbeet in Haddon Township is facing backlash from some customers who are angry about a change in the menu, but the owner says it was a business decision to help keep the doors open.
What we know:
“We have been here for ten years this December. We are a gluten-free and plant-forward restaurant now,” Ashley Coyne, the owner of Goodbeet, told FOX29. She made the tough decision to stray from the restaurant’s all-vegan menu last month, announcing the change on social media.
Now, Goodbeet customers have the option of adding local, organic, pasture-raised chicken or wild caught, Jail Island salmon to any bowl. Customers can now also order a platter with one protein and two sides.
“We got a ton of backlash. Some people were saying that they hate me, they hope my business fails, and that instead of adding meat on, I should have just closed instead,” Coyne said. “It is so upsetting because people do not understand that this is my job and that I have employees here.”
“It’s a business at the end of the day,” she added.
The backstory:
Coyne said she made the decision to change her menu after doing extensive research on other restaurants that have had to add meat to their menus as vegan restaurants become all the more popular nationally and internationally. She added that increasing costs in the restaurant industry for things like labor, food and paper products contributed to her decision as well.
“You can get vegan food everywhere now and there are gluten-free options on almost every menu,” Coyne said. “So vegan restaurants, stand-alone restaurants, just are not a destination anymore.”
“I have a ton of food sensitivities and that is why this place has existed,” she added. She decided that broadening her customer base would not only help her survive but also thrive.
Despite the backlash, Coyne says she remains committed to providing healthy options to her customers.
“Our food is legitimately healthy. No seed oils, no refined sugar. So, people do come here multiple times a week. It has definitely evolved over the years. And now, since we have added the chicken and the salmon, we are hoping to bring in a whole lot of new faces,” she said.
The Source: Information from FOX 29’s Shawnette Wilson.
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