Farm-to-Table Eatery Transforms into Vegan Baked-Potato Shop

The owners of Stock, a meat-centric café in Seattle, WA, have reinvented their business into a 100-percent plant-based shop. Papas Hot Potatoes, which opens next month, offers a simple menu that celebrates the classic baked potato: pick a base (Yukon gold potato, sweet potato, or cabbage), then load it up with sauce (vegan red or white chili or cashew-based queso) and toppings (vegan butter, dairy-free sour cream, aioli hot sauce, or savory coconut chips). Banana horchata shakes are also part of the menu. “The potato is an unsung hero,” Papas co-owner Patrick Hearron told VegNews. “They make a meal but aren’t pretentious. The potato doesn’t need the spotlight or ask for credit. It’s so secure in its confidence that it makes whatever else you’re eating with it the star—but we know who the real boss is.” Papas’ head chef and co-owner Chris Blanco was inspired to transition the eatery to a plant-based shop after he experienced symptoms of an autoimmune disease, which disappeared within two weeks after he switched to a whole foods, plant-based diet. “With this, he also realized how important serving whole, plant-based foods was to his own integrity,” Hearron said. “One of the main mission statements of Papas Hot Potatoes is that the food we make, we gladly feed ourselves and our families in good conscience.” Hearron and Blanco plan to open a second location in Seattle early next year.