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shitty economy threatens purgatory pizza, ACT NOW!
32October 19th, 2009LA restaurants, purgatory pizza
it’s been a bad year for some of our favorite restaurants. a taste of life has closed its storefront, that’s amore is completely gone, and flore cafe is on the brink of shutting down as well. on top of all this, today i found out that the shitty economy is threatening the best place to get vegan pizza in los angeles: purgatory pizza.
vegan pizza: daiya cheese, roasted garlic, fresh basil, tomatoes, red onions.
the owner of purgatory pizza tweeted this morning, “TRYING to stay open…. Damn economy!” i dug a bit deeper, and the restaurant confirmed that if business doesn’t pick up, it’s a very real possibility that they could be forced to close their doors. i can’t even stress to you WHAT AN EPIC TRAGEDY THIS WOULD BE FOR THE LOS ANGELES VEGAN SCENE. after all, purgatory was named one of the top 5 omnivorous restaurants in los angeles. i know that tons of places in LA are offering daiya pizza now, but purgatory is the only place where you can get pizza with daiya cheese, gardein vegan chicken, AND field roast artisan grain meats. it’s also the best place to get nyc style vegan pizza in town, and they even have vegan pesto as well!
Vegan Chicken Pesto Pizza with Gardein and Daiya at Purgatory Pizza.
seriously, purgatory pizza is a one-of-a-kind restaurant and we can’t let it go out of business. they were the first pizza place to bend over backwards for vegans in los angeles, and i think it’s safe to say they have some of the best (if not THE BEST) vegan pizza in LA. they are a little bit out of the way for most folks, but the food is worth it and they have a quiet atmosphere where you can BYOB! so get out and spend some money at purgatory pizza ASAP. i highly recommend you try either the gardein chicken with pesto or the “classic” pizza with added field roast sausage. they know how to melt daiya vegan cheese perfectly, and i’ve never had a pizza there i didn’t absolutely love. if they shut down, i will cry.
purgatory pizza
Tags: boyle heights, daiya, downtown la, gardein, pizza
1326 East 1st Street
Los Angeles CA 90033
(323) 262-5310
31 responses to “shitty economy threatens purgatory pizza, ACT NOW!” 
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this is terrible news, but i can’t say i’m super surprised. the location is kind of brutal and the place is almost always empty when i go there.
that said, the pies are delicious, and I much prefer their pizzas to the daiya-covered pies at Z Pizza.
i’m going there tonight!
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miss anthrope October 19th, 2009 at 16:47
@J: i think they are open for lunch now. you should call and confirm that!
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mr meaner October 19th, 2009 at 16:53
Purgatory is STILL the only BYO eat-in vegan pizza place in LA. GO THERE.
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I agree with “J.”. I too went there and the pizza was amazing (especially cold pizza too)! unfortunately, the parking was a little on the shady side. This is the only reason why the place is not doing so well because the f***in rocks!!!!!
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mar-mar October 19th, 2009 at 18:24
do they have lunch hours? maybe I could buy some pizzas for my co-workers…
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i went tonight and got a large with mushroom, olive and sausage with diablo sauce. so good!
good news is they are expanding their weekday hours: 11am to 11pm, monday thru friday starting september 3rd.
and i was also glad to see several tables had customers. easily the busiest i’ve seen the place in months.
nice!
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I’d go there all the time but they don’t open until 6:00 on week nights. It’s extremely convenient for me to drop by on my way home, but I’d have to wait around for 45 minutes before they even open. I called like a dummy several times before I realized the reason they didn’t answer wasn’t because they were too busy – it was because they weren’t open.
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Oh, but the news that they’re expanding their hours would totally eliminate my problem above.
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I’ve never been – it’s reeeally out of the way for me. But I third the pizza party idea!
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On their lunch hours, I think they were waiting for the Gold Line extension (which stops right outside!) to open….which is not happening for about another month.
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Michelle October 20th, 2009 at 06:09
If we thought A Taste of Life’s location sucked, Purgatory is terrible. Parking sucks there too. Agreed, once the Gold Line extension opens it’ll be gold for their business. Oh yeah, hours suck too. I tried dropping by for a pie during lunch one day, got lost on the way (apparently VZ Navigator has them mixed up with another address), and I don’t think they were even open. How about a vegan drinks pizza party? Even if we can’t all fit inside Purgatory at least we can order a helluvalotta takeout. 🙂
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EricM, are you saying that they are open for lunch now? Because it’s way past September 3rd.
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VeganFoodWhore October 20th, 2009 at 09:02
man….nothing like that pesto gardein pizza. I will cry too 🙁
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I was there last Wednesday night to pick up a pie for band practice. Great pizza and the non-vegan bandmates love it! I may need to pick up again for our regular Wednesday night – GO PURGATORY! Hang in there!
I vote “YES!” on Prop, Vegan Pizza Party @ Purgatory. Act now!
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Jarod – Yes, according to their menus and outside signage, they are now open for lunch on weekdays only. 11am-11pm, m-f.
Sorry about any confusion with the date. I forgot what month we’re in 😉
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THANK YOU!!! You guys are all great, (ESPECIALLY Quarrygirl!!!!)
We are open for lunch M-F at 11:30am.
We are not giving up yet. Finger s crossed and MUCH apprciation to all of YOY! XOXO!
~Kelley
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Space Kimchi October 20th, 2009 at 15:39
Oh god purgatory please make it to the gold line expansion. Please please please, it’s almost open, getting there will be AMAZINGLY easy just hang on a little more!
I go home via Union Station every day and have considered having a pizza delivered there to me to take home a few times, especially after the gold line opens, assuming they’re willing 🙂
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Michelle October 20th, 2009 at 17:59
Dear californians;
GOOOOOOOOO!
Don’t take your multitude of vegan friendly dives for granted!
At least keep this place in business until I get there, in 2012. -
As mentioned – ordering a pie for tonight’s band practice. Go Purgatory!
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i’m wondering if they have gluten free crust or corn meal crust??? hope so. would love to check them out. if anyone knows. please post
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Also, someone should put together a huge vegan pizza party. Would attend.
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I would totally be there for a vegan pizza party, as would The Boyfriend. We had Purgatory Pizza once, right before Chef Ricky left (on my suggestion) and, while I have some issues with Daiya (purely physical – the taste is fine), we both enjoyed the pizza. Plus I’m all for supporting good and innovative vegan restaurants.
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ive been going everyday for lunch , my recording studio is up the block and when i have hungry vegans in their this place is the best thing ever!, ps , they have a vegan pesto chicken salad sandwich that i love , i order that more then the pizza these days .. just sayin .. so lets do this pizza party deal!
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Ahhhhhh!! Because of your raves, I have tried my little heart out to get to Purgatory pizza! The 2 times I have been even remotely in the neighborhood for business during the day, they were closed. 🙁 (They open at 6pm, no?) I have got got got to make it over there to try this fab grub you keep raving about, 7 to support, and maybe just maybe they’ll extend there hours to help things along as well!??
Thank you!!
🙂 C -
Zukibean October 30th, 2009 at 08:15
Went there last night specifically to support them (driving downtown after work in Burbank around 6:30 isn’t my cup of tea) and it was delish as usual! The guy in front of me carried out nine pizzas…so that made me happy to see.
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simara October 30th, 2009 at 15:29
I am sorry for the owners and I appreciate their efforts but this “vegan” pizza was gross.
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[…] My pizza was delicious times 10 although I will say that Cruzer Pizza does seem to have more cheese on their pies. The mix of the pineapple with the Italian Sausage was a genius combo. Salty and sweet, anyone? Get your tookus to Purgatory (and do it quickly, these are hard times and they need your business!) […]
EricM October 19th, 2009 at 16:14