Vegan cafe owners receive death threats after revealing they eat meat

The owners of LA's popular vegan restaurant Cafe Gratitude have come under fire for revealing they have started to eat meat.

After Matthew and Terces Engelhart shared that they had begun to eat meat again, their customers were less than impressed.

RELATED: 10 chefs reveal their biggest cooking blunders of all time

RELATED: New Shapes flavours have everyone up in arms

Despite sharing the news on their blog last year, they came under fire again when a popular racecar driver - and vegan - took to Twitter to share her disappointment.

The owners of the restaurants declared that they slaughter their own animals for food at their Be Love Farm in Northern California, and customers are now bombarding their Instagram and Twitter accounts with messages of disgust, and even death threats.

"Not eating here ever again, nor will I recommend it to anyone. You guys are just a bunch of money hungry hypocrites!" wrote one former patron.

"MAKING MONEY OFF THE BACKS OF DEAD ANIMALS!!! GREEDY BASTARDS!!!!!" wrote another.

Other comments labelled the couple as "disgusting" and "terrible scum", while other customers vowed never to return to the restaurants again.

The Engelhart's took to Instagram in an attempt to calm the storm, reminding customers that even though they aren't vegan themselves, their restaurants still serve "100% organic, plant-based cuisine".

"In light of recent comments we want to assure all of our supporters that Café Gratitude and Gracias Madre have always served and will continue to serve 100% organic, plant-based cuisine prepared with ingredients sourced responsibly from vendors and farmers who share our commitment to preserving the integrity of the environment," they wrote.

Mr Engelhart has defended his decision to turn away from a vegan lifestyle.

"I am allowed to change my mind...I never even told them [customers] what my mind was. All I told them was it’s a vegan restaurant. And it still is! And it always will be,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

"It saddens me that the choices we made in the privacy of our home would lead people to feel so betrayed that it’s elevated to threats on our lives."

Got a story tip? Send it to tips@yahoo7.com.au

Want more celebrity, entertainment and lifestyle news? Follow Be on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram