XMarket, the Vegan Amazon, Opens New Location in San Diego

Deemed the “Vegan Amazon” due to its extensive plant-based selections, PlantX just opened its third location for its brick-and-mortar vegan grocery concept XMarket. The company just broke ground for its 4,500 square foot retail and cafe space in the Hillcrest neighborhood in San Diego. PlantX – the company that gained fame for providing an all-encompassing vegan online ordering service – is working to bring actual plant-based storefronts across North America. The market concept stocks a selection of fair trade and organic plant-based products including frozen foods, pantry staples, household products, and more.

“The grand opening event celebrating our XMarket store in Hillcrest is yet another opportunity to increase our company's profile," PlantX Founder Sean Dollinger said. "We are proud of our presence in Hillcrest, and we are eager to serve the local community and enjoy the opening festivities with them."

Following a partnership and acquisition between PlantX and Chef Matthew Kenney’s New Deli concept, XMarket launched to provide a plant-based deli and grocery establishment. The inaugural XMarket location opened this April within Kenney’s New Deli location in Venice, California. Shortly after the acquisition, XMarket expanded to Canada in May. The second location opened in Squamish – a town located slightly north of Vancouver.

Alongside the significant number of plant-based products, XMarket will feature an extensive deli menu. Consumers will be able to purchase a variety of sandwiches, snacks, lunch, and dinner options. Some menu items will include marinated tofu, eggless quiche, carrot lox bagels, and chickpea Tuna salad.

The deli is a collective effort between PlantX and Kenney’s original New Deli, providing a space for plant-based innovation. Both Matthew Kenney Cuisine (MKC) and Plant X aim to promote not only plant-based eating but also education around nutrition and vegan alternatives. The deli will feature a dedicated education center that will offer plant-based recipe cards, tutorials, and other resources to help consumers prepare their own plant-based meals and diets.

“MKC and PlantX are fully aligned in our collective mission to offer whole, plant-based alternatives to the general public," Kenney said in a statement. "Along with our retail and eCommerce initiatives, we are committed to investing in and developing innovative products that bring a sustainable and healthful change to the culinary landscape."

PlantX announced that one of its objectives is to maximize the accessibility of plant-based products for consumers within North America as well as worldwide. Between the company’s e-commerce presence and expanding storefronts, PlantX intends to boost brand recognition and distribution in the coming years.

The company also just announced that it will launch two more XMarket locations by the end of the month in the Hudson Bay area. The first location will open in Yorkdale Mall, Toronto on November 15 and the second location will open in Rideau Mall, Ottawa on November 22.

"Opening two new XMarket stores in partnership with the iconic Hudson's Bay will undoubtedly transform the potential of our future retail efforts," Dollinger said. "The stores will be crucial discovery touchpoints for customers frequenting these highly trafficked areas, which will boost the PlantX brand recognition. This move enables us to make significant and exciting investments that will enhance customer engagement, and provides us with yet another opportunity to promote plant-based living across Canada."

The company plans to continue its expansion outside of the United States and Canada. The brick-and-mortar locations will serve to connect communities to plant-based food and products that would otherwise be unavailable at local or regional grocery chains. The company has announced that it has several locations outside of North America in the works.

“Our next location will be in Tel Aviv, Israel, and after that we have two locations opening up inside the Hudson Bay stores in Ottawa (Rideau), and Toronto (Yorkdale),” PlantX’s CMO Alex Hoffman said. “A few other locations are on our radar, but nothing finalized yet.”

Following the grand opening on October 30, XMarket San Diego will be open seven days a week from 7 am to 7 pm Currently, this storefront ranks as the company’s largest in-person grocery store location. Eventually, consumers will be able to online order directly from the San Diego location.

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.