Vegan restaurants are all the rage these days and Toronto has been the home of some of the latest and greatest in the game. Most recently, US based and fast-food vegan darling by CHLOE. opened its doors at Yorkdale mall to the delight of Toronto diners. If you’re not familiar with the brand, by Chloe is a vegan eatery that “aims to share delicious, wholesome, plant-based food that fuels and energizes without compromising flavor, taste or satisfaction.”

We were lucky to get a chance to sit down with Founder and Creative Director, Samantha Wasser who was also recently named one of the “100 Coolest People in Food and Drink” by Business Insider for fearlessly leading the expansion of by CHLOE. across the United States, London and now Toronto.

For those who don’t know, tell us about by CHLOE. and the concept of the restaurant.

by CHLOE. is a plant-based, fast casual restaurant aiming to offer delicious, wholesome, vegan foods that fuel and energize without compromising flavour, taste or satisfaction. By CHLOE. has locations in various cities including New York City, Boston, Los Angeles and London, to name a few. by CHLOE. Toronto will be the brand’s 16^th location!

What do you think is contributing to the popularity and rise of vegan restaurants and vegan food options?

I think millennials play a valuable role in the rise of popularity of vegan restaurants and vegan food options. They make up a large percentage of our customer-base and are always looking for ways to improve their quality of life – whether that is sustainable fashion, eco-conscious brands or plant-based food.

What makes your food different from other vegan restaurants?

Our goal has always been to offer delicious food that only happens to be plant-based. When we started in 2015, “vegan” was still a scary word to many so we’ve always aimed to offer the most familiar, comforting menu in a fun and approachable setting – how scary can Mac N Cheese be?? Beyond inclusivity, we design our restaurants to be welcoming and fun, with touches that pay homage to each neighborhood it is in.

That’s a tough one! I would have to say our Pesto Meatball, Quinoa Taco Salad or The Guac Burger. I also tend to love our location-specific items like the Fish & Chips in the UK and our Maple Bacon Cheezeburger in Toronto!

What about Toronto made you want to open up a location here?

I’m all about creating and sustaining relationships with our consumers, I don’t shy away from direct messages on Instagram and really connecting with our followers. Through social media channels, we noticed that a lot of followers were based in Canada. The vegan food market and the food culture in general is huge in this city and we had to be a part of it!

What’s next for by CHLOE.?

The sky is the limit! We look forward to continuing our expansion in Canada and beyond. You’ll have to keep an eye on our social to see what’s next!

We also had to get a taste ourselves, and we were extremely impressed. Crowd favourite dishes like the Pesto Meatball Sandwich and Quinoa Taco Salad were hearty and captured the texture and flavour of real meat almost perfectly. The Yorkdale menu is 100% plant-based, with gluten-free and soy-free options also available. In addition, to celebrate the by CHLOE. launch in Canada, they have introduced an exclusive “Toronto by CHLOE.” menu that takes inspiration from classic Canadian dishes and local ingredients.