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Actor and comedian Kevin Hart is opening a new vegan fast-food restaurant in Los Angeles.
Opening this summer, the new restaurant, called Hart House, will serve fast-food favorites with a plant-based twist.
For example, menu items include the Double Burg’r, which features American cheese, Hart House signature sauce, and two plant-based patties. There’s also the Deluxe Crispy Chick’n, served with “hunny” mustard and pickles, as well as French Fries and Crispy Tots.
Together with entrepreneur Andy Hooper and former chef Michael Salem (who brought the Impossible Whopper to Burger King), Hart designed the menu to be appealing to people who love meat.
“I think it’s important for us to be a restaurant that first and foremost serves a crave-able product that people go out of their way to consume,” Hooper told Los Angeles Mag. “Then at the end, we’re like, ‘Hey, by the way, this just happens to be all plant-based.’”
Celebrities changing the future of food
Hart came up with the idea in 2020, amid COVID-19 lockdowns. After working on the menu for two years, the restaurant is finally ready. But the trio won’t be stopping at one location. Another spot is planned for West Hollywood, and there’ll be more after that too.
“I think this is really the future of fast food,” Salem said. “So that’s why I took the gig. I just thought it was an incredible chance to really make a difference and leave a legacy on food service and an industry that’s been so good to me.”
Hart isn’t the first celebrity to launch a plant-based fast-food chain. In the UK, the vegan fast-food chain Neat Burger is backed by Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton.
Recently, Leonardo DiCaprio invested in the company, which is set to expand to the US this year.
The Academy Award-winning actor and environmentalist said he invested in Neat Burger because he wants to “disrupt the food system with sustainable alternatives.” He said the chain is “pioneering” and a “great example” of the solutions the food industry needs.
