Vegan Cafe in Cambridge to Close Next Month

A vegan cafe adjoining a yoga studio in Cambridge will close next month. The Carpenter family, which owns and operates O2 Yoga and VO2 Vegan Cafe (1001 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge), announced the closure of the yoga studio last month and shared an update involving the cafe’s forthcoming April 30 closure this past weekend.

Owners Mimi Loureiro and Steven Carpenter lost their son Dylan to cancer in late 2018 and have decided not to continue running the businesses.

“We made every effort to keep our doors open and to keep the incredible, transformational, compassionate and kick-ass VO2 Cambridge community thriving even during the worst few years of our lives,” they wrote in a post on the VO2 Facebook page. “After the loss of our beautiful son Dylan, we simply don’t have the energy and quite frankly, the money, to keep it going.”

Though they had been working to find people to take over running the businesses, potential rent increases proved prohibitive. However, the family has launched a GoFundMe page to carry on VO2 Vegan Cafe as a food truck and catering business, serving bulk order items of seitan, soups, pesto, quiches, pastries, and more. The campaign aims to raise $25,000.

The Carpenters invited customers to visit the cafe before it closes late next month and indicated that the Somerville location of O2 Yoga will remain open.

“We are incredibly grateful to our talented, dedicated, and loyal customers and staff for making VO2 so incredibly special, fun and successful. We hope that you continue to be part of what will make this world a better kinder place.”

• VO2 Vegan Food Truck & Catering [GoFundMe]