Impossible Foods Takes Root with First-of-its-Kind Plant-Based Restaurant

Plant-based pioneer Impossible Foods opened its first restaurant this week in Chicago. Dubbed Impossible Quality Meats, the restaurant pop-up offers a fully plant-based menu of burgers, hot dogs, salads, appetizers, and dessert that will be available through the fall.

Nestled in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood at 804 W. Montrose Ave., Impossible Quality Meats debuted this week inside XMarket, the Midwest’s first vegan food hall. The 6,500 sq. ft. vegan hub is also home to six local restaurant vendors, a market, and a full bar. Check out our Instagram reel for video coverage.

Photo Credit: McMillanDoolittle

The plant-powered menu at Impossible Quality Meats features items like an Impossible Breakfast Sausage Sandwich, Impossible Smash Burger, Impossible Asian Style Meatballs, as well as soft-serve ice cream from Oatly. In addition to dining in, customers can purchase packaged, take-home Impossible products from the retail section of the store.

Photo Credit: McMIllanDoolittle

Impossible’s new restaurant concept stands out with its vivid, bright red design that mirrors the new “meatier” brand revamp unveiled by the company earlier this year in March. The shift from green to red branding reflects the company’s move to a bold, meat-forward brand strategy targeting meat eaters and is a departure from its previous health-focused positioning.

A comparison of previous branding (left) and new branding (right). Photo Credit: Impossible Foods

In conjunction with a new brand identity and restaurant launch, Impossible Foods has continued to expand its market presence through multiple strategic initiatives this year. Initiatives include securing a distribution partnership for its plant-based chicken with Whole Foods, partnering with the U.S. military to deliver plant-based products to troops overseas, and signing on hot-dog-eating champion Joey Chestnut as a brand ambassador.

Photo Credit: Impossible Foods

Impossible’s foray into foodservice marks a return to the company’s restaurant roots, where the brand got its start by distributing its plant-based products to dining establishments. Although Impossible is no stranger to restaurants – with distribution across 45,000 foodservice locations in the U.S. and multi-year partnerships with Burger King, White Castle, Starbucks, and Disneyland – this is their first time opening a standalone restaurant under its own banner. Operating an Impossible-branded establishment gives the company the opportunity to test and learn in an environment where it has full control of the marketing, operations, and customer experience, as opposed to ceding some degree of control and execution to a restaurant partner.

Photo Credit: Impossible Foods

Its location in the XMarket food hall gets the brand front and center with the core vegan and plant-based consumer, but it may face challenges convincing the mainstream meat eaters it seems to be going after to make the trek to the all-vegan food hall. That aside, the city boasts a vibrant food culture and is renowned for its iconic Chicago-style hot dog, making it an ideal test market for the new burger and brat concept.

Impossible Quality Meats is touted as a short-term pop-up concept currently open through the fall. If the restaurant continues to take root with plant-based consumers and meat eaters alike, perhaps we will see additional locations sprout up in the future.

For additional insights, read our blog to learn more about recent Chicago pop-ups and store openings, including Harry Styles’ beauty brand pop-up and Wayfair’s first-ever brick-and-mortar store.