Love supergreens salad, chargrilled asparagus, and veggie penne with grilled zuchinni? You’re in luck. Veggie Grill, one of America’s most popular fast-casual vegan restaurant chains, is set to open 29 new locations across the country, sometime in the near future.
Already, Veggie Grill boasts a clientele that is, surprisingly, 70-80 percent non-vegan, and has been in operation for ten years, launching its first location in California back in 2006.
As of 2013, the chain has had twenty-six restaurants in operation nationwide.
What’s contributing to their success? According to onegreenplanet.org, the reason lies at least partially in the fact that up to one third of Americans are choosing to leave meat out of their meal more frequently.
“We get people who just want to eat in the better-for-you space. This is a theme in America, now, I think,” Greg Dollarhyde, Veggie Grill’s California-based chain’s “Chief Energizing Officer,” is quoted as saying in an interview with Nation’s Restaurant News.
While the specifics of who these people are and where they might wish to eat more veggies is still unclear, target areas for new Veggie Grill locations include Dallas, Chicago, Denver, Atlanta, Miami, and the District of Columbia.
Which is good news for all of us. Because it could be that by just being presented with healthier options for eating, more often, that any unhealthy eating patterns we already have, (like eating too much meat,) may eventually fall by the wayside, in turn opening our palates to better habits.
What’s the line of thinking? 35.7 percent of Americans are currently considered to be obese and studies show that, at least for kids, new foods need to be presented between eight to fifteen times before picky eaters will actually try any new items in front of them. And you can imagine that that number is higher for adults who’ve been avoiding new healthy foods for a longer time.
Now, with upwards of 50 locations of healthier fast-food options set to be sitting before our eyes, in theory, we just have to drive past them enough times before everyone actually decides to drop in and check it out.
Thanks, Veggie Grill, for making a crunchier future for all.
Photo Credit: EQRoy/Shutterstock
