This past week, both of Ann Arbor’s Elevation Burger restaurants unexpectedly closed permanently. A small sign on the door alerted customers to the closure and thanked them for their business. University of Michigan alumni Sarah and Mike Tayter opened the organic burger joint in downtown Ann Arbor in 2015.
Elevation was known for its 100% organic, free-range and grass-fed beef and offered a selection of vegan and vegetarian burgers, sandwiches, fries, milkshakes and salads. With one location on Washtenaw Avenue and another on East Liberty Street, the Virginia-based chain was accessible to Ann Arbor locals and students.
Hira Khan, LSA junior and Elevation regular, expressed disappointment at the restaurant’s sudden closing because it is just one of many local Ann Arbor businesses that has shut its doors in the past year.
“I just thought it was really sad in general just to see so many places in Ann Arbor closing, especially when Elevation Burger was I think family-owned, so it’s really sad to see that happen,” Khan said.
Khan also elaborated on Elevation’s inclusive menu, explaining that it provided halal foods for her and friends when dining hall options were not available. Khan said Elevation had become a regular hangout spot for the past three years.
“A lot of me and my friends, our freshman year, when the dining halls weren’t halal, would always go there to eat because they were one of the two restaurants on campus that had halal food,” Khan said. “But also, in general, it was kind of a place that me and all my friends would go to all the time just to hang out … that was just our thing, that was our spot on campus so I’ll just miss the memories.”