Cheesy Chain Debuts Gooey Vegan Burger Melt

Cheese-centric sandwich chain Melt Shop recently debuted a vegan Burger Melt at all of its locations in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Minnesota. The sandwich features a veggie burger made of quinoa, beets, black beans, and brown rice, Field Roast’s Tomato Cayenne Chao cheese slices, roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions, and arugula on a multigrain bun. The Burger Melt was initially featured as a limited-time offer in May 2018, but due to an overwhelmingly positive response and strong sales Melt Shop Founder and CEO Spencer Rubin decided to add it as a permanent menu item. “With Melt Shop, I really wanted to create a menu that appealed to everyone. Adding vegan options and tapping the vegan customer base has always been something I had been interested in,” Rubin told VegNews. “Through our general customer survey, we learned that a lot of guests also wanted more vegan options. I jumped in the kitchen and started playing with options. The response, from existing and new guests, has been great. We’ve grown a vegan following.” Next month, The Melt Shop—which aims to be a pioneer of what it calls the “Melted Sandwich Movement”—plans to roll out a new Vegan Bacon Burger featuring a barley patty, tempeh bacon, Creamy Chao cheese slices, a vegan burger sauce, and caramelized onions.