A Plant-Based Deli is Coming Soon to a City Near You

If you're someone who laments the fact that Subway's menu is lacking plant-based sandwiches, here's some good news: A new sub shop is stepping in to provide vegan deli options to customers around the country. Mrs. Goldfarb’s Unreal Deli is planning a national expansion that will bring specialized vegan subs to Americans nationwide. The brand has recently launched ghost kitchens in Austin, Denver, Los Angeles, New York City, and Raleigh, with plenty more in the works, aiming for nationwide expansion.

Unreal Deli Sandwiches just partnered with the ghost kitchen managing firm Acelerate to open as many ghost kitchen concepts as possible this year. The ghost kitchen will operate as a pick-up and delivery-only restaurant without any dine-in space, allowing the brand to reach as many customers as possible due to low start-up costs and maintenance expenses.

"I am extremely excited – it's about time!” Unreal Deli owner Jenny Goldfarb said. “These subs are outrageously delicious; one would never know they're all made of plants. Thanks to our extraordinary partners for bringing it all to life."

The Unreal Deli menu features an impressive selection of fully plant-based versions of beloved sandwiches including cheesesteaks and Reubens. To elevate its menu further, the company announced a partnership with the popular vegan condiment provider Only Plant Based!, which will provide specialty dressings, mayo, and sour cream for select sandwiches. The company's subs will be topped with Violife’s vegan cheeses.

"It's an ideal partnership and an example of how the plant-based experience can be enhanced through a collaborative business model," Only Plant Based! Consulting Chef George Vutetakis said. "This venture brings together companies who have specific expertise and passion for their products in order to create the best possible menu, taste, and access for the customer."

Plant-based eaters are starting to be able to taste Unreal Deli's innovative sandwiches as the ghost kitchen concepts spread across the country. Customers in select cities can order through DoorDash, UberEats, Grubhub, Seamless, and Postmates for either delivery or pickup.

Founded by Goldfarb in 2019, Unreal Deli secured an investment from Mark Cuban when the company appeared on an episode of Shark Tank. Receiving a $250,000 investment, the brand expanded its deli meat portfolio and spread into the national retail space, producing a wide selection of vegan deli staples such as plant-based turkey, steak, and corned beef slices. Shoppers can find these deli slices at select supermarkets nationwide, including Publix and Whole Foods Market locations.

During this year’s Natural Products Expo West, the brand unveiled a brand new line of deli meats intended to provide sandwich shops and deli counters with a tasty plant-based alternative. The specialty vegan meats have been developed to taste and cut just like their animal-based counterparts.

From grocery shopping to ready-made meals, people now rely on delivery services more than ever. Without the need for customer seating, ghost kitchens have entered the mainstream by providing people with easy access to all their favorite foods, and over the last year, interest in vegan delivery has grown exponentially. Google’s “Year in Search” report found that people searched for Vegan Food Near Me 5,000 percent more in 2021 than in 2020.

Other ghost kitchens include Impossible Foods’ Impossible Shop and Skinny Butcher's Crazy Crispy Chick’n. The plant-based companies’ new delivery-based kitchens have allowed more people to have direct access to vegan fast food, a market that is projected to reach $40.25 billion by 2028. The new vegan ghost kitchens will play a key role in accelerating the accessibility of plant-based fast food.

Fast-food restaurants have finally got the memo that their customer base isn’t just coming through for a burger, fried chicken, or a beef taco. Many now have plant-based foods and are coming up with creative, delicious ways to get more greens on the menu. Here are the 6 best fast-food chains with plant-based options on the menu.

Turns out there’s a lot more to rely on than a salad if you’re eating plant-based. Burger King has the Impossible Whopper featuring a meatless patty as well as a few secretly vegan options such as the French Toast Sticks and Hashbrowns.

Known for its mini square-shaped sliders, this hamburger chain jumped on the plant-based bandwagon at some participating locations. You can find an Impossible Slider on some White Castle menus.

This was the first national Mexican fast-food chain to offer Beyond Meat at the company’s 580 restaurants across the country. Del Taco has the Beyond Avocado Taco on the menu along with the Epic Beyond Original Mex Burrito and Avocado Veggie Bowl.

Another brand synonymous with beef burgers, Carl’s Jr. offers several plant-based options for veggie and plant lover such as Beyond Famous Star Burger and Guacamole Thickburger.

This fast-food restaurant may have been one of the first you frequented while transitioning to plant-based eating. That’s because Taco Bell has eight million vegetarian combinations and sells 350 million vegetarian items a year through menu substitutions or ordering off their vegetarian menu. In fact, they were the first quick-service restaurant to offer American Vegetarian Association (AVA) certified food options.

From the time it started offering breakfast sandwiches in 2006, the coffee conglomerate became a competitor in the fast-food space. You can get your favorite hot and cold beverages made with almond, coconut or oat milk but there are also plant-based food options available such as the Baja Black Bean Veggie Wrap, bagel with vegan cream cheese and Impossible Breakfast Sandwich.