Is it Time to Reinvent the Drive-Thru?

Traditional American fast food is perceived by many to be
inevitably unhealthy; however, it doesn’t have to be. Amy’s
Kitchen is reinventing the classic American drive-thru one
organic, vegetarian burger at a time. In this episode of The Main
Course, Host Barbara Castiglia sat down with the President of
Amy’s Drive-Thru, David Wolfgram, to discuss how this healthy
spin on a quick meal came to be.


Many know Amy’s Kitchen brand from their pre-prepared, organic
meals found in grocery stores. “When our founders started Amy's
kitchen, they set out to fulfill a need that they identified
through their own personal experiences,” Wolfgram said, “They
realized there was really no pre-prepared organic, vegetarian and
great tasting foods available.”


As the rating and fanbase continued to grow for the brand, there
started to be more and more push from customers to bring this
same commitment to the restaurant world, thus giving birth to
Amy’s drive-thru.


Wolfgram, who spent decades growing and developing brands for
private equity brands, shared that in his 40+ years in the
business, Amy’s drive-thru is by far the most exciting concept he
has worked on. “Not only does it have tremendous potential
financially but the good it does for the people on the planet is
pretty amazing.”


At Amy’s Kitchen, their main focus is sustainability and
plant-based options. “It's a brand with purpose,” Wolfgram
explained, “Doing good for people and doing good for the planet
is what really drives everything."


At its core, the menu at Amy’s Drive-Thru includes all of the
traditional American Drive-thru food you could imagine, including
burgers, fries, shakes. But what sets them apart? All of these
options are both organic and vegetarian. Extending beyond that,
anything can be made available gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegan.
“This was another really important part of the brand for the
founders that everyone had accessibility to the brand despite
food allergies.”