After 45 years, Arthur and Anya Gordon have sold The Irregardless Cafe in downtown Raleigh.
Anya Gordon confirmed the sale to WRAL on Thursday afternoon. The couple opened the restaurant at 901 W. Morgan St. in 1975. It was the community's first vegetarian restaurant at the time. It also became the first restaurant in the state to ban smoking in 1985. The state didn't pass legislation to ban smoking in all restaurants until 2010.
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David Meeker, co-founder of Trophy Brewing Co., purchased the building, Gordon said., while Lee Robinson has taken over ownership and management of Irregardless Cafe. Robinson, who has managed The Pit and The Player's Retreat, said he has no plans to change anything about Irregardless Cafe.
"I'm definitely not going to turn it into a steakhouse," Robinson said with a laugh.
Robinson started dining at Irregardless when he was a student at N.C. State in the 1990s. When the chance to purchase the restaurant came up, he and Meeker thought it made sense to move forward.
"We both wanted to preserve the place. We are both watching Raleigh slowly go away as it grows," Robinson said.
Look for the menu to remain the same. "It's got this menu that is here for everybody. I want to keep it very fresh and vegetable forward," he added. "I have no plans to bring in pork."
The cafe's popular brunch service is definitely not going away. "We have the busiest brunch in Raleigh with no bacon. I think that says something," he said.
Just hours after Meeker and Robinson took over the lease, the restaurant opened on New Year's Day for its annual Pajama Brunch.
Irregardless Cafe won the WRAL.com Voters' Choice Award in 2015 and 2016 for best gluten-free menu and vegetarian menu.