Canadian vegan burger chain plans 40 franchises in Florida

A vegan burger chain form Canada is expanding into Florida with plans to open at least 40 new locations here in the next eight years.

Odd Burger Corp. has announced it signed a franchisee who will oversee the restaurants in the state. That’s in addition to the franchise agreement it signed earlier this year to open 20 locations in Washington state.

The company did not respond to a question about what Florida markets it was looking at initially or a timeline for when the first ones could open.

Odd Burger currently operates 15 locations in Canada, mostly in Ontario, and has another nine slated to open soon.

Its menu mirrors that of any average burger joint you’ll find across North America with wraps, shakes and burgers. Its best-known item is the Famous Burger which, in photos, looks remarkably like a Big Mac from McDonald’s.

The Famous Burger is made up of two house-made smash patties that, according to Odd Burger’s website, are made using wheat and soy protein, flax seeds, onions, nutritional yeast and a special seasoning blend.

The secret sauce is made using organic soy milk, French dressing, dijon mustard, relish, oil and vinegar.

There are also ChickUn sandwiches, the Vopper and a BacUn Famous Melt.

Odd Burger traces its roots to London, Ontario, in 2014 when founder James McInnes started “a grassroots vegan organization that brought organic fruit and vegetables from local farmers to customers' doorsteps.”

Two years later, he and wife, Vasiliki, took what today is the Famous Burger to the London, Ontario Ribfest and sold out. The discovery that there was an appetite for vegan fast food led to the launch of a food truck.

In 2017, they opened Canada’s first vegan fast-food restaurant and followed that up six months later by opening up what the company’s website calls “the world's first 24-hour vegan drive thru.”

The franchisee behind the expansion to Florida is a company called StarrMatt Corp. It is described in a news release announcing Odd Burger’s plans as a Florida-based real estate and franchise development company.

The company doesn't appear to have a website, but according to Odd Burger, StarMatt is a joint venture led by Prashant Dalal and Vishal Valsadia.

Dalal is Odd Burger's area representative for Ontario and has about doubled the number of the chain’s restaurants in operation or under development in the past year. 

And Valsadia is president of Matti Homes, a real estate development company that has built over 1,000 homes across Ontario and has extensive experience in commercial property development.