Stalk & Spade
Stalk & Spade
In just a few months plant-based eaters and the vegan- and vegetarian-curious can entertain some Chick’n Nuggets and an S&S Burger on Washington Avenue. Yep, you read that right. The Minnesota-made plant-based franchise Stalk & Spade is coming to the North Loop this spring.
Stalk & Spade, self-proclaimed as the country’s "first plant-based franchise," announced Tuesday that it will open its third Minnesota location next to Crisp & Green (both Crisp & Green and Stalk & Spade are owned by CEO Steele Smiley) on Washington Avenue. Stalk & Spade’s mothership location opened last year in Wayzata to long lines and a fervent following. Smiley is ready for this plant-based franchise to go national with a few locations slated to open in Florida this year.
On its social media and website the franchise urges everyone to “Join the plant-based revolution.” A revolution indeed: McDonald’s recently launched their McPlant burger in all its U.K. locations, and is currently testing out the plant-based burger in select U.S. cities. KFCs in the U.K. have been toying with a vegan burger since 2020. Eleven Madison Park, the famed New York restaurant, shifted its menu to forgo meat and seafood. And in April last year, Epicurious, the Condé Nast-owned food publication, announced that it will no longer publish recipes that feature beef in an effort to encourage environmentally conscious cooking.
Plant-based foods are proving to be a growing market—and Smiley is striking while the iron is hot. “Ultimately, our goal is to be the fastest growing restaurant chain in American history,” Smiley told Twin Cities Business.
Along with the North Loop news, the franchise also added that their second Minnesota location in Edina will open this spring, across from the 50th and France Crisp & Green.
