Shuggie's in San Francisco, which made dishes with upcycled ingredients, closing in July
Shuggie's in San Francisco, known for creating delectable dishes using upcycled ingredients, will be closing next month.
"Some of it is the sluggishness of the Mission recovering post-pandemic. There are just so many pressures right now, costs are increasing all the time on all fronts," Kayla Abe, co-owner of Shuggie's, told CBS News Bay Area. "There's just not enough patronage on a nightly basis to justify staying open."
The restaurant has been open for the past four years, and had received many accolades, including making it on the list of Bon Appetit's best restaurants in the U.S.
"The entire frame of the tuna, bringing that in, paying our fishmongers for that. Everything that's leftover basically after the filets are cut out, that other places purchase. And we marinate it, we top it with a bunch of sauces and toppings," Abe said, referring to her tuna rib crudo dish.
Her mission has always been about climate action, and she turned that passion into food.
"The impact our food system has is massive on our overall climate emissions, carbon emissions. Specifically, food waste," she said.
And while this chapter is closing, Abe said her and her partner, David Murphy's story of sustainability is not ending.
"This was a big risk that we are taking. We are one of the first food-waste-focused restaurants in the nation, or worldwide really," she said. "We are so invested in this upcycled economy."
The goal of a more sustainable Bay Area is something Dan Kurzrock, the co-founder and CEO of Upcycled Foods, Inc. believes in.
"Fundamentally, it's a good business," he told CBS News Bay Area.
Kurzrock also co-founded ReGrained, converting extracted barley into other upcycled ingredients.
"Least resistance isn't always the path of highest value. It takes some investment and market building for these things to come forward. And so, my outlook and what I think is going to happen from here in the future is upcycling being deployed, that practice being a tool," he said. "We have entered a new chapter for those of us who are passionate about advancing the upcycled food economy. We realized we have to be less reliant on the individual eater, the consumer, having that sustainability mission that is a reason for purchase. A reason for loyalty."
And Abe said even after their doors close, they will keep their mission going.
"This work in sustainability, sustainable foods, education around circularity isn't over. We're going to continue to roll that into different forms," Abe said.
She added that they will be closing on July 11.
