G-Zen Closing Branford Eatery, Opening G-Monkey In West Hartford

BRANFORD, CT — Well-known and award-winning Branford vegan eatery G-Zen is closing. But owners Mark and Ami Shadle say that as one door closes, another opens. That open door is in West Hartford.

Noting they are "evolving their brand from sit-down service-style restauranting to a fast-casual dining concept," they're opening a brick-and-mortar flagship location called G-Monkey, in the community known colloquially as WeHa. The eatery will serve “Plant-Fueled Fast Food.”

Located at 625 Park Road in West Hartford, the opening of the state's "first 100 percent plant-based fast food restaurant" is slated to open in late spring or early summer.

“G-Zen has opened our eyes to all of the possibilities that are out there for plant-based cuisine,” co-owner and nutritionist Ami Shadle was quoted as saying in a news release.

“Over the years our loyal and loving plant-fueled customer base has helped us to develop and evolve our food and our brand, now we are ready to sprout in a new direction," she said. "G-Monkey Plant-Fueled Fast Food will be an evolution of our two brands G-Zen in Branford and G-Monkey Mobile into a fresh, modern and plant-forward fast food restaurant.”

From their original idea, to open a "sophisticated vegan sanctuary on the shoreline," grew a more than decade-long vegan restaurant success story. The location served "organic, vegan, sustainable food" to diners from Branford and far beyond.

“We have laughed together and cried together. We have eaten and nurtured our souls together. We have all become an extended family, from the customers to our dedicated staff and owners alike. It is clear to many that G-Zen has always been more than just a restaurant,” Mark Shadle, Master Vegan Chef said. “We truly believe that food is love, and hope that our current fan base will help us celebrate our new location!”

The company’s founders and owners have been on a "mission to create food you love that loves you back."

They began with the G-Monkey mobile food truck in 2010. It served vegan-fusion inspired "Farm2Street® food."

That mission continued with the opening of G-Zen, an award-winning fine dining restaurant focused on organic, vegan and sustainable food in Branford.

Over the years, G-Monkey received accolades from the New York Times, the Food Network, Travel & Leisure magazine and Veg News.

The new G-Monkey Plant-Fueled Fast Food flagship location builds on that success with a fast-casual menu built on plant-based, hand-crafted whole foods. It is located at 625 New Park Ave, West Hartford CT. G-Monkey can be found at GMonkeyGlobal.com and follow #plantfueledfastfood on Instagram for updates.

All existing gift cards that have not been redeemed by our last date, April 30, 2022 of dining services in Branford, will be honored in our new G-Monkey “Plant-Fueled Fast Food” location at 625 New Park Avenue, West Hartford opening Spring 2022.