Central Kitchen and Other Favorite Detroit-Area Restaurants Accelerate the Plant-Based Food Movement

"As we celebrate our 3-year anniversary, we continue to evolve with the palates and demands of our discerning guests, and accommodate the national trend towards healthy meal options that don't compromise on taste, and our partnership with Impossible Foods couldn't be more timely," said Central Kitchen + Bar owner and serial entrepreneur Dennis Archer, Jr. "Executive Chef Christina Stanco and her culinary team were blown away by the Impossible Burger, and they took it a step further by creating innovative recipes that you will not find anywhere else in America.”

Central Kitchen joins more than 100 other restaurants in Michigan serving the Impossible Burger. Other restaurants include the regional outlets of national chains Bar Louie, Houlihan’s and Wahlburgers as well as metro Detroit favorites Punchbowl Social, Tom’s Oyster Bar, Ford’s Garage, Greektown Casino and Alley Taco. The Impossible Burger is also on the 2018 menu at Ford Field.

Delicious in The D
Metro Detroit is one of the top regions nationwide for Impossible Burger sales, second only to Chicago in the Midwest.

The Impossible Burger took the region by storm when it debuted one year ago at the Royal Oak outlet of B Spot, the Midwest burger chain owned by Michael Symon. Symon, a Cleveland native who describes his cuisine as “meat centric,” has won accolades from Food & Wine magazine, The James Beard Foundation Award and the Detroit Free Press, among others.

Impossible Foods’ flagship product debuted in 2016 at Chef David Chang’s lauded restaurant Momofuku Nishi in Manhattan. The Impossible Burger is now available in more than 3,000 locations globally, including restaurants, corporate dining halls, universities and other foodservice locations in the United States, Hong Kong and Macau.

“The Impossible Burger started in 2016 on the East and West coasts, but today we are seeing tremendous growth in the Midwest -- and Detroit is a real standout,” said Stephanie Lind, Impossible Foods’ head of global sales. “More and more restaurants serve the Impossible Burger, so more and more customers ask for it. Michigan is now home to Impossible Burgers, tacos, sliders and now lettuce wraps. It’s a virtuous sales circle -- for us, for restaurants and ultimately for consumers and the planet.”

From white glove...to White Castle

White Castle, founded in 1921, also announced today that it is rolling out the highly acclaimed Impossible Slider at all restaurants nationwide.

Hailed as “one of the country’s best fast-food burgers, period,” the Impossible Slider debuted in April at 140 White Castle locations in New York, New Jersey and Chicago. Based on the overwhelming success of the pilot program, White Castle - largely credited for inventing the slider- is expanding availability of the Impossible Slider starting today to all 377 of its restaurants in 13 states -- from New York to St. Louis.

Impossible Foods opened its first large-scale manufacturing plant in September 2017 in Oakland, Calif. With demand still outstripping supply, the company is adding a second shift to double production.

Impossible Foods will continue to roll out its plant-based meat in restaurants and other foodservice locations nationwide, then in retail locations.