Last week, we announced the sale of Irregardless Cafe from founding chef + longtime owner Arthur Gordon (who is retiring) to David Meeker, co-owner of Trophy Brewing, and Lee Robinson, the general manager at Players’ Retreat. Regarding this news, we received a mixed response from readers — who expressed everything from excitement to dismay:
🥧 @shilohbarkley said, “Good news!”
🌶️ @ehmcneill said, “That’s so sad. I’ll probably never go back now.”
🥘 @timmclarke said, “Be gentle with her. She’s one of my faves.”
This establishment is a longtime fixture in the community, and whether you’ve been there 100 times or only once, most people seem to have at least heard of Irregardless — or driven by it. If you’re wondering how a restaurant like this makes a name for itself, we’re taking a look back at the past 45 years to see how it all started, what’s changed, and what remains the same regardless.
- Founded by Arthur in 1975, Irregardless Cafe was Raleigh’s first vegetarian restaurant + opened with a pronounced dedication to concepts that are considered buzzwords today — green, sustainable, local, and farm-to-table.
- In 1977, the restaurant hosted its first New Year’s Eve celebration, inviting community members and diners to enjoy dinner and live music.
- Arthur began menuing fish and seafood in 1979, catering to pescatarians who weren’t totally sold on the vegan and vegetarian menu options.
In 1982, Arthur published his cookbook The Irregardless Cooks, meant to be a straight-forward guide for at-home cooks interested in eco-friendly, vegetarian + international recipes. Click here to find a copy.
- Irregardless was the first restaurant in N.C. to completely ban smoking, in 1985. At the time, this was unheard of in the Tobacco State, however smoking was banned in all restaurants across the state in 2010.
- In the late 1980s, Arthur added poultry to his menu + the Athenian chicken wrap became a popular mainstay, along with his Venetian pesto chicken penne.
- The restaurant suffered a major fire in 1994, which caused the business to be completely closed for 11 months due to repairs and remodeling. During that time, Arthur continued to pay his staff their full wages as long as they committed to volunteering with local charities.
- Here comes the meat. In 1997, the restaurant began serving beef and lamb, and the cafe walls were adorned with murals and artwork by local painter Kyle Highsmith.
- Beginning in 2000, Irregardless became one of the few local restaurants to be open on Thanksgiving, Christmas + New Year’s Day. They also offer carry-out menus for those wanting to serve Arthur’s creations at home.
- Irregardless Catering was launched in 2001 to service business luncheons, dinner parties, corporate receptions, and weddings around the Triangle.
- In 2012, the restaurant added 10 solar panels to its roof in order to heat water throughout the restaurant more sustainably.
- In 2013, the Well-Fed Community Garden was established to cultivate produce for the restaurant + also meet the needs of community members around Raleigh.
- Since the recent sale of Irregardless, the new partner-owners David and Lee have promised to keep the menu much the same, while making improvements and updates to the building + dining room. For now, the cafe will continue to dish up all your favorites and will remain a spot where you can find live music nightly.
- Next up: to celebrate being named among OpenTable’s Top 50 Vegetarian Restaurants in the U.S., Irregardless is hosting Veganuary January 26 through February 2, featuring exclusive vegan menu items and specials.
Quiz
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