Just a month after announcing two of its stores would do away with animal-based protein, Grill’d has done an about-face and reverted them back to their traditional offering.
In early February, the sites at Crown St, Darlinghurst (NSW) and Collingwood (VIC) rebranded to ‘Impossibly Grill’d’, boasting new leafy green interiors and a menu featuring 23 plant-based burgers.
At the time, founder Simon Crowe said: “We’re thrilled to open the doors of Impossibly Grill’d, an entirely new healthy, sustainable plant-based restaurant concept where guests can enjoy the tastiest meat-free burgers in Australia.
“Whether you’re vegetarian-ish, plant-based or experimenting with going meat-free, Grill’d is an progressive brand that supports all food tribes no matter consumers’ needs and preferences.”
Since then, however, the sites have quietly reverted back to the traditional Grill’d branding and menu.
“Obviously with any new concept, there are a number of variables to take into consideration, such as regular customers that can’t experience their favourite menu items – so we’re taking the key learnings from this initiative, and implementing these into our planning for our future sustainability projects,” a Grill’d spokesperson told Future Alternative.
The spokesperson said the burger franchise is still committed to offering plant-based meals at each of its venues, and there’s still a possibility that we’ll see dedicated plant-based venues in the future.
“We received positive feedback from our plant-based, flexitarian and walk-in guests on the store experience and the new menu items [at Impossibly Grill’d], which has given us valuable insights which we will use to evolve the concept,” said the spokesperson.
“We now think the way forward is not to convert existing restaurants but to open brand new locations with this concept.”
