America’s First Vegan Fried Chicken Shop Is Opening This Month
The United States is about to get its very first vegan fried chicken restaurant! On November 22, pop-up shop and catering company Eat Love will finally open a brick-and-mortar restaurant.
Eat Love’s founder, Lynn Torres, chose a location in Orange County, California, just a mile away from where she grew up. Hungry customers will soon have their pick of seitan-based fried chicken sandwiches and bucket meals akin to Kentucky Fried Chicken’s and Chick-fil-A’s, along with delicious desserts, like chocolate-dipped ice cream sandwiches and fudge brownies. Lynn told VegNews:
We are better than KFC and Chick-fil-A because we want to share amazing and delicious food without harming animals and without harming our health. We actually really care about animals, the environment, social issues, your health, and the world.
Back in 2015, Lynn and her husband, Enrique, weighed a combined 610 pounds. Once they started eating plant-based, Enrique was able to reverse his Type 2 diabetes, and Lynn lost over 150 pounds! This inspired them to open Eat Love and bring delicious vegan food to their friends, their neighbors, and the world. Lynn said:
I believe that the way we can create change is by spreading love, and to me food is love. I hope that people take our food and share it with their loved ones and that this action brings up a conversation about veganism.
Plant-based fried chicken is certainly a growing trend. In August, Kentucky Fried Chicken tested vegan fried chicken that combined Beyond Meat with their signature secret spices. Customers lined up around the building at the Atlanta restaurant that served the plant-based chicken. KFC is considering moving forward on either broader testing or a nationwide rollout. U.S. president and chief concept officer Kevin Hochman stated:
KFC Beyond Fried Chicken is so delicious, our customers will find it difficult to tell that it’s plant-based. I think we’ve all heard “it tastes like chicken”—well our customers are going to be amazed and say, “it tastes like Kentucky Fried Chicken!”
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