Why You Ought to Head to NYC for the Finest Vegan Barbecue This Summer time

Quick-casual vegan restaurant Pure Grit BBQ is increasing its attain so extra folks in New York Metropolis can get a style of vegan barbecue. This summer season, the restaurant will probably be popping up all around the metropolis, together with at places comparable to Fifth Hammer, Massive Alice Brewery, The Style of Stuytown, and Massive Apple BBQ.

Pure Grit BBQ additionally just lately partnered with help platform Hungry Home to develop its attain, permitting the restaurant to learn from the platform’s data in operations, culinary growth, digital expertise, and wholesale. In the end this may enable Pure Grit to serve extra of the NYC neighborhood with a bigger supply radius, catering, and wholesale alternatives.

The partnership additionally means increasing right into a shared kitchen idea, however Pure Grit has developed kitchen insurance policies to make sure there isn’t a cross-contamination. “It is very important notice, whereas our menu stays vegan and gluten-free, we’ll not be an unique vegan/gluten-free kitchen,” Pure Grit founder and CEO Kerry Fitzmaurice tells VegNews. 

Pure Grit BBQ

The brand new kitchen insurance policies embody sustaining designated storage areas, prep stations, an oven, and a fryer; shared tools will probably be used independently and cleaned completely between makes use of; and Marge and Bessie, Pure Grit’s people who smoke, will proceed to solely smoke the signature barbecue mains. 

Regardless of the brand new challenges, the partnership will finally enable Pure Grit to deliver its vegan barbecue to extra folks. 

“New Yorkers want extra vegan barbecue as a result of it’s scrumptious,” Fitzmaurice says. “And when it’s plant-based, you may eat it on a regular basis—in any case, barbecue is concerning the smoke and the flavour. Pure Grit invitations as many individuals as attainable to assemble across the desk.” 

Pure Grit BBQ celebrates one 12 months

Based by Jenny Mauric and Kerry Fitzmaurice, the Pure Grit BBQ idea was born following a visit to Austin, TX the place Fitzmaurice skilled the notorious Texas barbecue scene. When she couldn’t discover vegan choices at native barbecue joints, she had an “aha” second and determined to fill the void herself. 

Fitzmaurice got here dwelling to NYC and partnered with Mauric to deliver Pure Grit BBQ to life. They began by promoting vegan barbecue necessities—a barbecue sauce, sizzling sauce, and a spice rub—accompanied by cooking and smoking tutorials. 

Pure Grit BBQ

Final 12 months, Pure Grit BBQ acquired a money infusion from an angel investor to not solely open their flagship NYC location, but additionally operationalize their idea for scale and fast progress, in addition to streamline and develop their retail choices. 

The brick-and-mortar eatery provides vegan and gluten-free smoked barbecue mains comparable to fried rooster and waffles; pulled jackfruit Unimaginable burgers sandwiched between cornbread waffles; and traditional sides comparable to coleslaw, baked beans, potato salad, and mac and cheese. 

Every little thing is smoked in-house and ready with the model’s signature sauces and rub, that are additionally obtainable on the market together with its branded merchandise. 

On Might 17, the restaurant can be celebrating its one-year anniversary, when Pure Grit will probably be freely giving free branded t-shirts with any buy.  

Vegan choices at Barclays Middle

Earlier this 12 months, Pure Grit BBQ launched into its first enlargement when it turned the one vegan vendor at Brooklyn, NY’s famed Barclays Middle, the place it served its standard, award-winning house-smoked Jackfruit Nachos and two unique sliders (Home Smoked Jackfruit Sliders and Smoked Unimaginable Minimize Brisket) served on cornbread waffles alongside house-made barbecue chips. 

Pure Grit BBQ

For this enlargement, Pure Grit BBQ was a part of the Barclay Middle’s Brooklyn Market idea, a coveted area the place three to 5 manufacturers are chosen as distributors for the season. And because the solely vegan vendor, Fitzmaurice says it supplied a chance to indicate folks what vegan meals is all about. 

“We had been in a position to have so many superb conversations about plant-based consuming that challenged and adjusted folks’s perceptions about vegan meals,” Fitzmaurice says.

It was extra than simply vegans who got here to purchase their meals. “We had a tremendous season on the Barclay’s Middle for the Nets dwelling video games,” she says. “Our regulars included extraordinarily joyful vegans however it was principally omnivores in search of one thing totally different and scrumptious.”

And the truth that Pure Grit can be gluten-free made their choices much more inviting. “To see the face of somebody in search of a gluten-free meal and studying that each one of our meals was gluten-free was priceless,” she says. 

Fitzmaurice hopes to proceed this momentum with this summer season’s pop-up and Hungry Home enlargement. “We genuinely really feel that the place folks collect and have fun is the place we should be,” she says.