Kosher restaurant Veggie Life is on the verge of closing if it don’t get more customers.
Sunny Zhao and her partner June Huang opened a new restaurant in Kirkland called Veggie Life last May after leaving the Bellevue kosher restaurant Teapot. Both restaurants are currently struggling to pay rent.
“Maybe [we] can last for another few more months,” Huang said. Her first language is not English.
Huang says due to slow business and difficult prices, she had to reduce the number of servers in her restaurant. She worked instead of them on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. They are not making enough money for the labor and rent, which could cause the restaurant to close.
“I hope we can succeed and that we can stay,” Huang said, “I don’t want to do some other business.”
Beth Balkany, resident of Seward Park and mother of NYHS alumni, reported on the Facebook page Kosher Deals in Seattle that Veggie Life was closing permanently on January 3, 2026. However, in the same Facebook post, Balkany updated that Veggie Life would reopen on January 7.
NYHS has ordered food from kosher restaurants four times this year, sometimes from Veggie Life and sometimes from Teapot, for the teacher in-service meetings. When asked about Veggie Life potentially closing, Administrative Coordinator Savannah Murray said, “besides it being one of the only kosher places that we have that’s easy for a school to order from, it’s also a personal favorite of mine.”
“I can’t imagine how difficult it is to be in charge of a restaurant financially,” said NYHS English teacher and long time Teapot customer Andy Kaplan. “[I think] having viable restaurants that are thriving can only help us as a community, and makes me sad that they’re closing.”
The Seattle Va’ad is a group of six rabbis that oversee kosher organizations in the Seattle area. This organization provides kashrut supervision for local businesses and institutions, ensuring compliance with Jewish dietary laws through regular inspections and adhering to high halachic (Jewish law) standards.
Before the restaurant opened, Huang reached out to the front desk administrator at Chabad of Bellevue and Chasya Sarah Walsh, the bookkeeper at Va’ad Seattle; they gave her step-by-step instructions on how to open the restaurant and gave her other financial help. When Veggie Life opened Zhao and Huang made sure everything was brand new, the chairs, tables and the utensils properly prepared for the restaurant in the kosher way.
“We tried to visit the Jewish community like the synagogue and get information,” Huang said, “really important information step-by-step.”
Before Veggie Life started, when Huang was still working at Teapot, she said the environment there was not so great. According to the mashgiach (kosher supervisor), David Normatov (who is the writer’s father) worked at Teapot, the restaurant was struggling with rent issues and the owner passed away last year. They convinced the property owner to lower the price. Normatov says they might close down again soon also due to lack of customers.
“I like the environment here,” Huang said. “I feel like it lasts when I come in, if customer come in, I feel like friends come visit me. So I have so much fun, and it’s so much good time.”
