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One of New York\u2019s biggest vegan chefs is closing<\/a> her Brooklyn vegan comfort food restaurant this summer. Owner Isa Chandra Moskowitz will shutter Modern Love<\/a> at 317 Union Avenue, near South First Street in Williamsburg, sometime in June, after eight years of service. <\/p>\n Moskowitz tells Eater via email that she had to close Modern Love basically because the business model wasn\u2019t working, and she had \u201cto change our entire concept.\u201d The pandemic shift to more deliveries and takeout business \u201cisn\u2019t sustainable for a sit-down restaurant,\u201d she explains. While the restaurant does offer pickup and delivery orders (and, according to her, sales were good), \u201cit\u2019s impossible to absorb the cuts that third-party apps take.\u201d At the same time, earlier in April, Moskowitz urged<\/a> people to visit the restaurant so she could raise money to fix the air conditioning, opting not to go the GoFundMe route.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the end for Modern Love, though \u2014 Moskowitz wants to relocate the restaurant with a different service model. She <\/strong>hasn\u2019t set a last date of service yet. <\/p>\n Fellow vegan restaurants like Seasoned Vegan (which also closed<\/a> in late April) and Toad Style<\/a> flocked to the Instagram announcement post to share their love and condolences for the restaurant. Meanwhile, fans like singer and musician Ted Leo chimed in<\/a>, writing<\/a> that the restaurant is \u201cthe best and we\u2019re here for whatever you do next, my friend.\u201d<\/p>\n The restaurant was known for its American vegan comfort food, which New York Magazine<\/em> described<\/a> as \u201c innovative, plant-based renderings of various hearty classics.\u201d That includes dishes like the mushroom fried chick\u2019n, truffled poutine, and the cashew cheddar macaroni. <\/p>\n Brooklyn-native Moskowitz is one of New York\u2019s earlier vegan leaders<\/a>. She hosted her own cooking show, Post Punk Kitchen<\/em><\/a>, from 2003 to 2005; and wrote cookbooks like Vegan with a Vengeance<\/em><\/a> (2005) and Veganomicon<\/em><\/a> (2007). And actually, she first opened Modern Love in Omaha<\/a> in 2013. Then she expanded into Brooklyn in 2016. The Nebraska location moved addresses<\/a> in 2018 and ended up closing<\/a> in late 2024. <\/p>\n