On a packed Friday evening just days before its final service, Red Bamboo was anything but quiet. The vegan hotspot on West Fourth Street was packed with full tables as a two-hour wait stretched outside its narrow staircase. Inside, staff hugged longtime customers, while pop hits and nostalgic throwbacks played beneath the restaurant’s dim lighting and red walls. 

Red Bamboo’s closure on Monday marked the end of a 24-year run that made it a local favorite for non-meat eaters, along with a broader crowd of NYU students and residents across the city. Known for what owner Jade Wong described as “food that comforts the soul,” the restaurant specialized in plant-based versions of dishes from a range of cuisines, such as sweet and sour chicken, barbecue ribs and chicken parmesan. Fan favorites included barbecue buffalo wings, jerk-style chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese — made from recipes Wong said were developed by her father.

“These are his trademark dishes,” Wong told WSN. “This is why we’re still known today from far away.”

Wong also noted that her deep relationship with food began with her Filipina grandmother, who helped raise her and taught her to cook by the time she was nine years old. The restaurant’s name is a nod to the red bamboo that grew in her grandmother’s backyard in the Philippines.

In further honor of her grandmother, Wong offered a selection of vegan Filipino dishes based on family recipes, which she said allowed Red Bamboo to serve New York’s Filipino community in ways that few other restaurants could.

“We were raised on rice — breakfast, lunch and dinner,” Wong said, referencing her Filipino and Chinese heritage. “It’s just the love from both of my cultures that we celebrate with food.”

The closure was driven by rising rent costs and other lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic according to Wong, who added that she intends to eventually reopen the restaurant. Red Bamboo was unable to install outdoor dining accommodations during the pandemic, a tactic many other restaurants relied on for survival, due to a fire hydrant that sat directly outside its storefront — a seemingly small obstacle that took a large financial toll. 

“Veganism is not dead — it’s just that my locals and regulars moved away,” Wong said. “The pandemic literally destroyed us.”

Queens resident Joanna Chiappone said that the closure reflects a broader struggle of small restaurants across the city, particularly those that are plant-based, citing inflation and pressure from landlords.

“I think a lot of vegan places are getting pushed out of their leases because they want to put more chains — someone who can pay the bills,” Chiappone told WSN.

Longtime vegetarian Soraya Foy has been a Red Bamboo patron for nearly 20 years. After receiving an email announcing the restaurant’s closure, she drove from New Jersey for what she called “one last hurrah.”

“Even my friends that are not vegetarians love this place,” Foy said in an interview with WSN. “The menu encompasses all of the great things about New York City.”

Throughout Friday evening, staff greeted several customers by name. Wong hugged guests, asked about their families and at one point, offered to bring food out to someone waiting in their car. The atmosphere felt less like a closure and more like a reunion.

“I will definitely reopen Red Bamboo in the future,” Wong said. “Right now, I just need the time.”

Contact Robin Young at [email protected].