Romeo’s Vegan Burgers truck to open first brick-and-mortar on South Boulevard

Why it matters: Romeo’s Instagram page claims it’ll be the first Black-owned, vegan drive-thru to open in the Southeastern United States.

• Co-owner Tigo Faulkner tells Axios Charlotte, “we’re definitely trying to be that vegan Chick-Fil-A.”

Background: Faulkner, a local recording artist, and his co-owner Lamont Heath started Romeo’s last November after spending months testing plant-based burger recipes. Both are vegan and wanted to show how flavorful and fun meat-free food could be.

• “We’re both health-conscious people but we understand that the illusion is vegan food doesn’t taste good,” Faulkner tells Axios. “But in reality, there are only two types of food: good food and bad food.”
• The food truck became known for drawing lines that stretched down the street — especially when it was parked at the old Dairy Queen in Plaza Midwood.

The menu will have all of Romeo’s staples like its “Where Art Thou Romeo Burger” and “Chili Cheese Fries,” plus the team announced the addition of a “Barbecue Bacon Burger” and a “Mexico Romeo Burger.”

Romeo’s target audience isn’t just vegans. In fact, many of the truck’s customers aren’t vegan.

• “So, what we wanted to do was create something that would allow people who are still used to the omnivore diet to cross over and say, ‘Hey this tastes great,’ and have them consider going vegan,” Faulkner said.

Location/opening: Find Romeo’s Vegan at 5518 South Blvd. It’s slated to open in December, but the exact date is yet to be announced.

• As for the truck, Faulkner says it’ll be around. Follow Romeo’s Instagram to find it.