New burger restaurant makes additional plant-based alternatives accessible to Davis community
In an era of increasingly popular health fads coupled with the growing importance of environmental awareness, veganism and plant-based diets are becoming more common, and research continues to show both the health and environmental benefits these diets have. And soon, Burger Patch will bring what founder Phil Horn calls “convenient consciousness” to Davis.
Burger Patch, a completely plant-based burger restaurant with locations in Downtown Sacramento and the Golden 1 Center, will expand to Davis in early 2020 in Davis Commons at 500 1st St., just a short walk from campus. The establishment’s opening will be facilitated by founders Phil and Danea Horn.
Burger Patch hopes to encourage students to explore the plant-based lifestyle. In addition to providing convenient plant-based alternatives, Co-Founder Phil Horn explained that the team “loves being a part of the late night scene [in Sacramento],” and said he hopes “we can do that in Davis.”
On Friday and Saturday nights, Burger Patch stays open until 1 a.m. and offers classic late night snacks like burgers, shakes and fries with plant-based twists. The owners also hope to serve breakfast at the new Davis location.
The plant-based lifestyle is quickly gaining popularity. According to Liz Applegate, a distinguished senior lecturer in the nutrition department and former director of sports nutrition at UC Davis, there are countless upsides to adopting more plant-based meals into one’s diet.
“When you choose a diet that’s based in more fruits and vegetables and beans and other unprocessed plant products, you get more fiber and more phytonutrients that reduce the risk of a variety of chronic diseases [including] heart disease, cancer and developing type-two diabetes,” Applegate says.
She did caution that “consuming a plant-based burger does not mean it’s better for you.”
“If I were to go to In-N-Out and get a burger and fries and a shake, or if I was to go to Burger Patch and get their standard burger, fries and shake, [they have] relatively the same nutrition profile,” Applegate said.
Applegate urges people to recognize that Burger Patch should not be considered “diet food,” and that it is not a reflection of the plant-based diet as a whole. The plant-based diet is made up of many fruits, vegetables and legumes, and Applegate said it is great for reducing long-term health problems and said reducing meat consumption is an all-around healthy choice.
Beyond the health benefits of a plant-based diet, there is also a positive impact on the environment. Phil Horn explained that the environmental impact of creating beyond meat versus ground beef differs phenomenally.
“The stats are numerous in terms of the amount of CO2 emissions and the amount of water it takes to make a meat burger versus eating a non-meat alternative,” Horn said. “One cow, for instance, takes hundreds of thousands of gallons of water to create food on your plate. Using a meat alternative is a fraction of that.”
Burger Patch strives to increase restaurant sustainability, a goal that contributes to their overall mission: one that Horn said boils down to kindness. This is visible in terms of kindness toward animals, the environment and people.
Burger Patch also has a “#grilpower” initiative, which states that the restaurant will strive to have at least 50/50 representation of men and women in positions of power, such as team leads, key holders and managers, by the end of 2020. Horn also explained the restaurant’s commitment to a monthly “Patch Match.”
“Every month we select a non-profit in the local area and we give back a portion of every burger sold, in addition to doing one night when we give 10% of all sales to the organization,” Horn said.
Burger Patch will open its doors in early 2020, and Horn urged students and community members alike to stop by and try his personal favorite burger: “The total patch: a beyond burger patty, our chicken alternative and our bacon alternative all on one burger. It’s amazing”
Written by: Katherine DeBenedetti — features@theaggie.org
