Add a vegan pizza joint to the list of restaurants the lockdown has forced to close down due to financial strains. 

Virtuous Pie in Little Italy has only been in business here since the end of 2018 but just announced they're closing down their Toronto location for good on June 14.

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To our valued guests and friends, we are saddened to share the news that our Virtuous Pie Toronto location will be closing its doors on Sunday, June 14th at 8:00 pm.⁣ ⁣ The past few weeks have brought us to the unfortunate realization that the financial uncertainty of COVID-19 is too far-reaching to remain open at this time. We want to assure you that this was an incredibly difficult decision that was not made lightly.⁣ ⁣ We would like to take this time to thank you for your love and support over the past year and a half. We are so grateful for the community that we had the pleasure of serving and getting to know—it has been an honour.⁣ ⁣ Until we close our doors on June 14th, Virtuous Pie will be open for pickup 12 - 8pm every day.⁣ ⁣ We will also continue to be available through our delivery and pickup partners DoorDash, Uber Eats and Ritual, until Sunday, June 14th.⁣ ⁣ Our restaurants will continue to operate in BC and Portland and we hope you get the chance to visit us on the West Coast sometime soon. While the future is uncertain, we hope this is not goodbye forever. For now, we will miss you and we hope you continue to carry #ThatPlantLife with you wherever you may go.

A post shared by Virtuous Pie (@virtuous_pie) on Jun 8, 2020 at 4:15pm PDT

Virtuous Pie Toronto told blogTO that the decision to close was difficult.

“We are so thankful for the community that we had the pleasure of serving and getting to know — it has been an honour,” they wrote in a statement. 

Virtuous Pie is a family franchise founded in Vancouver by Rob Milne and his sons Ben and Alex.

They first opened their Toronto location in 2018 and have served an array of plant-based pizzas ever since.

From roasted eggplant mezze pizza starting at $11, to more enhanced offerings of sweet pepper and sausage pizza for $15 — the restaurant was a popular spot for vegans. 

The restaurant also catered to customers individual dietary needs, providing vegan, gluten-free and Keto requests and custom orders for people with allergies.

While their main offering was pizza, the restaurant also sold their own plant-based ice cream containers.

The sleek and stylish restaurant will be missed in Toronto for sure. There are four other Virtuous Pie locations across Vancouver, Portland and Victoria that continue to operate during the pandemic.