Veggie Grill to Expand Outside West Coast

Popular vegan restaurant chain Veggie Grill is planning to expand across the nation, with sights set on markets in cities such as Dallas, Chicago, Denver, Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, DC. With 29 existing locations along the West Coast, an expansion into middle America is not a risky move, CEO Greg Dollarhyde says, thanks to a nationwide shift toward more healthful, plant-based food options. “We call these people who are putting veggies at the center of the plates and celebrate this kind of eating as ‘veggie positive,’” Dollarhyde told Nation’s Restaurant News. “Research we’ve done shows there are millions and millions of veggie-positive adults in the US … This is a theme in America, now, I think.” The future of the company, Dollarhyde said, might include non-traditional locations such as on college campuses, healthcare facilities, and airports, plus a tightened focus on urban development. Veggie Grill’s menu of vegan appetizers, bowls, entrée salads, sandwiches, and burgers attracts a loyal clientele—70 to 80 percent of which are meat-eaters, according to Dollarhyde—and is part of a growing trend of plant-based fast-food concepts seeing massive success.