23/09/2025
The Downfall of Vegan Búðin (my side of the story)
Spring 2023, something was off at Vegan Búðin. Shelves going empty. Whispers of closure. People asked the owners what was happening; no answers came.
Meanwhile I was running Junkyard – The Best Junk in Town: our Kleppsvegur restaurant and an industrial kitchen supplying supermarkets and catering. A loyal customer asked me, “Have you seen Vegan Búðin? Looks like they’re closing.” I went to see. I ran into one of the owners I’d done business with before. He told me they were shutting down and filing for bankruptcy. He was divorcing his wife—also one of the owners and the CEO. I won’t air private matters, but it looked like a long, painful situation. Either way, it was clear: the store was collapsing.
After long talks, we asked the question: what if I took over? Maybe it wasn’t too late.
The reality: roughly 78 million kr in debt. I’ve navigated storms before... Covid, losing a finger, divorce followed by narcissistic abuse, undiagnosed ADHD, burnout. Hard isn’t new to me. But Vegan Búðin felt like a mission: a chance to do something good for people, animals, and the planet.
We signed around late May/early June. Purchase price: 0 kr. Debt: all of it.
The traps I stepped into
Jömm moved out, debt stayed in. The fast-food brand Jömm, operated by Veganmatur ehf., was shifted to another company before I arrived—leaving the debts behind. I offered to keep producing Jömm under a license and use all revenue to pay down what was owed. I got rejected. It is safe to say, anyone if they have their intentions in the right place, would not reject an offer like that in these circumstance.
Garri, Livekindly, Oumph — the supply chain flipped against us.
Veganmatur ehf imported Oumph from Livekindly. My understanding was: Veganmatur could sell Oumph in the store and use it for Jömm, while Garri held the exclusive distribution role in Iceland. By the time I took over, Veganmatur reportedly owed Livekindly close to 40 million kr. Then the wholesale side of Veganmatur was sold to Ó. Johnson og Kaaber (OJK) for about 28 million kr. Out of that, roughly 18–20 million went to mend things with Livekindly so imports could continue—now tied to OJK.
The knock-on effect? Garri, who had been the main distributor under exclusivity, would now have to buy Oumph from a competitor. And Vegan Búðin, once acting as wholesaler, got pushed down the chain: I now had to buy Oumph from OJK at a higher price. The same products, but costlier and with worse leverage.
Cash on day one—and how it disappeared.
Veganmatur ehf had 11 million kr in the bank that was left after Livekindly was payed down for OJK. I used 3 million as a rent deposit at Faxafen 14. The remaining 8 million went to bills and sudden “surprise” staff claims from before my time—unpaid vacation, sick leave, people I’d never even met with very vague roles (often friends of the previous owners). About 4 million kr vanished into that. The rest went to re-opening supply lines by paying old debts.
Overseas suppliers wouldn’t ship, some of them would not even talk to me and some would require large pre-payments. We didn’t have that. The shelves kept looking empty.
Fighting to keep the lights on
I pivoted. Shrink the store. Turn the big kitchen into a small food court. Build a subscription model to cut families’ grocery expenses by 40–70% and keep the store alive. Preparations have started for the new plans.
Then the rent bomb hit. The landlord (who also owns Heimkaup) nearly tripled the rent. Almost +300%. No way. Maybe the subscriptions could’ve carried it someday—but they weren’t launched yet. I wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that Heimkaup opened right after Vegan Búdin in Faxafen 14.
Then came a hit from the outside. A former part-time employee posted a long story in “Scammed in Iceland.” Facebook group. Twists, lies, and claims that were devastating to read. We had bent over backward to support her, even when she caused problems. I confronted one moment of disrespect; suddenly I was the villain. It hurt. It also scared away goodwill we desperately needed. Co-incidentally few days before the post I got a phone call asking for reference for her for a manager role, I kindly had to tell the truth where I said what needed to be said: she is a good general employee, but do not recommend for managment. Retaliation was the price for telling the truth.
I kept knocking on doors:
Krónan. On paper at takeover, we owed them 8–9 million kr. I proposed we produce for Krónan at cost, let them keep all our margins to pay down the debt, and finally get Junkyard into their stores for the long run. Once again, I got rejected. Then the number inflated to around 16 million kr—no documentation I saw to justify it. In accounting, losses can be moved around for a benefit. You get the idea... I did not at a time.
By late summer the walls were closing in. September was coming. With the rent hike, we were done.
We closed.
One last swing
The subscription system was finally ready—but too late. With a few products and some equipment left, we tried Kólaportið for a last shot. The backlash was immediate. Friends and family of the previous owners shouted online: “YOU MUST PAY WHAT YOU OWE.” It felt like some people were happy to watch it die and furious to see it try to live.
By then, I was finished—burned out, empty, depressed. I started to run from it. Tried to sell fast so maybe the idea could live without me. What followed became an opportunity for someone else to grab what value remained—and a pool of lies, manipulation, and deceit. At that point, I had nothing left to fight with.
That’s how Vegan Búðin went down. Not for lack of love, ideas, or community need—but under the weight of inherited debt, shifting supply-chain loyalties (Garri/Livekindly/OJK/Oumph), surprise payroll liabilities, a 300% rent hike, inflated claims, and online attacks that kicked us while we were already on our knees.
I tried to save it. I failed. I still believe in the mission: business can change lives—for people, animals, and the planet. Maybe one day something better rises from these ashes.
