Restaurant Industry Mag Says Plants Are the Future

In a special report published in the March 2017 issue of media outlet Quick Service Restaurant Magazine (QSR), writer Maggie Hennessy made the case for plant-based foods as a growing permanent trend in the restaurant industry. “We’ve reached an era when meatless eating is no longer limited to Mondays,” Hennessy said. “When a charred whole cauliflower can turn as many heads in a dining room as a sizzling, bone-in ribeye.” In addition to chefs across the country adopting more plant-centric menus, Hennessy pointed to the success of several vegan eateries—including New York City’s Avant Garden, Washington DC’s Shouk, and California-based Veggie Grill—as proof positive that the restaurant scene is moving away from animal products. According to Hennessy, companies such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods (both producers of “bleeding” vegan burger patties) have also made inroads with customers looking for more environmentally friendly alternatives to beef. “The impact these merging trends could have on the limited-service industry, meanwhile, could be enormous,” Hennessey said, “and operators ahead of the curve could stand to gain the most.”