Seabirds Kitchen on 4th Street will permanently cease operations on Sept. 8. Chef and owner Stephanie Morgan’s space has largely come to define elevated, contemporary vegan food in Long Beach.
“After seven incredible years, I have to close our doors,” Chef Stephanie said. “There’s just a blunt reality: with the rising costs of everything—food, labor, insurance, utilities… I understand our price point became less accessible; that I admit. But I was not willing to compromise our ingredients or the values of Seabirds Kitchen and serve a lesser product I wasn’t proud of.”
The decision to close Seabirds Kitchen stems from the pains and problems of post-pandemic restaurant operations.
Those words add extra weight to what Chef Stephanie had to achieve to open up Seabirds Kitchen. With a baby in her arms just two months before opening—and taking only 11 days off—Seabirds is truly a labor of love. Across the past year—where she has listed the space for sale in the hopes of keeping afloat—she stopped paying herself in order to keep her employees paid.
“It’s really hard to close it,” Chef Stephanie said. “I opened this location with high hopes. Long Beach needed better food options at the time. It needed healthier options with someone like me scrutinizing over the ingredients. This is where I’ve spent most of my time the last seven years… I’ve made so many sacrifices and gave all I could to keep it going. But the economy turned too hard for us, and I can do nothing about that.”
The closure of Seabirds Kitchen affects Chef Stephanie and the Long Beach community, who will miss the healthier food options and the unique touch of Chef Stephanie’s propriteary ingredients (like her famed vegan cheese). Her love of her staff, expressed in a social media post regarding the closure, reads even heavier following the knowledge of her own sacrifices.
“The amazing team that has stood by us through thick and thin,” Chef Stephanie wrote. “Your passion, dedication, and creativity have made Seabirds Kitchen a special place, and we couldn’t have done it without you. You have poured your hearts into every dish and every interaction, and your spirit has shaped our restaurant in ways we can never fully express.”
How Seabirds Kitchen became a beacon for not just vegan cuisine but quality, health-centric food in a world dominated by decadent hype food.
Seabirds Kitchen in Long Beach opened when Chef Stephanie decided to create a second, more prominent location after her flagship space in Costa Mesa. With it came a very distinct idea: that vegan food shouldn’t be funneled into its own category. Rather, it can and should exist as a natural part of our food culture as a whole.
The fact that non-vegans regularly consume vegan food—be they chips and pita or hummus, all cuisines ranging from Chinese to Levantine can quickly shift their plates toward a vegan diet—but refuse to recognize it is a deep-seated form of culinary cognitive dissonance. On the side of patrons, the result is a strange dismissal of what vegan food can be when handled by a talented chef. On the chef side, it is the possible loss of creating distinctly unique things that they would have otherwise been unable to develop were not they focused on making something vegan outside of a bean patty or salad.
It’s not about diminishing the power of a non-vegan’s praise for Morgan’s sophisticated food, with comments like “I didn’t know vegan food could taste like this.” In fact, it’s a moment of empowerment for both sides of the culinary spectrum, inspiring a more open-minded approach to food.
As Chef Stephanie puts it, such comments are the highest form of praise. They validate the mission of Seabirds Kitchen: To open people’s eyes to the potential of vegan food.
Seabirds Kitchen’s last day of service wil be Sept. 8. It is located at 975 E. 4th St.
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This restaurant is a culinary beacon it’s a hard loss for we who love it .
Very disappointed in this news. It was my whole family’s favorite place, including two littles who grew up going here. It was our go-to for birthdays, special occasions, and showing off long Beach food to our out of town visitors.
Yes the food is epic, but the staff was the best I ever saw.
Why are all of the vegan restaurants in Long Beach closing? Maybe not all, but I am counting four now with Seabirds leaving. We miss Pancho’s Vegan Tacos, The Hip Pea, and V-Burger. And, what has happened to the vegan pizza restaurant that was supposed to open on 4th Street in Retro Row?
In my opinion Hip Pea and Pancho’s was nothing special (you can get similar things elsewhere).
But V-Burger was truly a gem — honestly, if they had better operating business hours I think they would’ve done waaay better. Instead they had limited hours during daytime, closing just before the dinner crowd ever got a chance to try some REALLY good burgers. That said, the owners are true champions for animal welfare. In my book, they’ll always be heroes.
So very sad that Seabirds LB is closing. We love the tasty, fresh items (opposed to all of the fried vegan foods at other restaurants). We will continue to go to your Costa Mesa location. Best vegan food around!