United Kingdom-based vegan chain Neat Burger will expand to seven additional locations in London along with 20 “dark” kitchens that offer delivery only. Neat Burger offers a menu consisting of vegan cheese burgers, chick’n burgers, hot dogs, tater tots, ice cream, and milkshakes, along with kids meals. The brand was created by world champion race car driver and vegan advocate Lewis Hamilton in collaboration with hospitality group The Cream Group and Beyond Meat investor Tommaso Chiabara.
“A few years ago, most people would not have been that into the idea of a plant-based burger restaurant, and restaurants had one option on the menu to cater for the vegetarians,” Neat Director Zack Bish told UK media outlet Evening Standard. “The fact that there is now such a high demand for a totally plant based offering is really encouraging and exciting to us. Even meat-eaters are going out of their way to choose plant-based options as the awareness of the effect it has on the world grows and grows.”
Hamilton’s vegan burgers
Hamilton—who went vegan in 2017—opened the first Neat Burger location in Central London in 2019 and quickly expanded to a second and third location in the Camden and Soho neighborhoods, respectively. In addition to expanding in the UK, Hamilton previously announced plans to franchise the concept to 14 global locations in major cities such as New York City and Los Angeles.
When he is not expanding his vegan restaurant empire, Hamilton crushes racing records, promotes the ethical side of veganism, and fights for racial justice on and off the track. In November 2020, Hamilton won his seventh Formula One Championship—after securing his 92nd win at the Portuguese Grand Prix, surpassing the win record previously held by legendary driver Michael Schumacher. With eyes still on him after the historic wins, Hamilton took to Instagram to send a message about racial justice followed by an Instagram story—where he shared a video of pigs headed to slaughter—that urged his 30 million followers to go vegan.
