A popular vegan food truck’s opening a new restaurant in Fresno. Here are the details
Downtown Fresno is getting a new vegan restaurant.
Plant Slayer, a vegan food trailer that launched in 2020, is in the process of opening a brick-and-mortar spot.
The restaurant – which is still a few months from opening – is moving into The Galleria at Civic Center Square. This is the building at Capitol and N streets with several restaurants off a main corridor.
Plant Slayer will be opening in the former Oriental Express spot. That restaurant closed when the owners retired during the pandemic.
It’s not the first vegan restaurant in town. In fact, it’s in the same building as another vegan trail blazer, the raw food-focused Raw Fresno. Vegan chain Loving Hut has a restaurant on Van Ness Avenue just south of Fresno City College.
Gina Perez and Jeremy Brownstein have run Plant Slayer since 2020. The food trailer is popular enough it occasionally attract long lines.
“That’s the reason why we’re opening up the restaurant space, because of the demand,” Perez said. “We outgrew our trailer and … it just made more sense.”
They’re aiming to open the first week of May.
Plant Slayer’s restaurant will feature its regular menu that already caters to vegans and vegetarians, plus more.
The food trailer is known for its burgers, chicken sandwiches and breakfast sandwiches – all made from meat substitutes such as Beyond Meat burger patties or vital wheat gluten.
The No. 1 seller is the campfire burger, made with a Beyond Meat that the owners season and form into patties, vegan bacon, onion rings, campfire sauce (that’s similar to barbecue sauce) and a pretzel bun.
“Everything is vegan,” Perez said.
Loaded french fries are another popular seller, including its animal fries topped with vegan American cheese, grilled onions and Thousand Island sauce.
Once the restaurant opens, expect more options, like vegan milkshakes and Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. They also plan to carry baked goods and desserts from local food producers.
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
