Dining patrons in Clayton looking for a healthy lunch or dinner alternative will soon have another option. On Tuesday evening, the Clayton Board of Aldermen unanimously approved a conditional-use permit for Native Foods, a 100 percent plant-based, fast-casual restaurant, which is slated to operate at 33 N. Central, the space that formerly housed Planet Smoothie and LemonShark Poke. At the aldermanic meeting, the opening date was noted as “looking like the first part of July,” depending on the construction schedule.
The Backstory
Find the best food in St. Louis
Subscribe to the St. Louis Dining In and Dining Out newsletters to stay up-to-date on the local restaurant and culinary scene.
Founded in 1994 in Palm Springs, CA, Native Foods had grown to more than a dozen stores when it was purchased by Clayton-based Millstone Capital Advisors in 2018, which moved its headquarters from Chicago to St. Louis in 2022. Currently, Native Foods restaurants are located in California, Colorado, and Illinois. The Clayton location will be its first in Missouri.
Millstone Capital Advisors’ mission includes “enhancing the quality of life and economic development for the people in the companies in which we invest and the communities in which they operate.” Millstone partner Toby Warticovschi says, “Our mantra has always been ‘doing well by doing good,’ and Native Foods is a great example of this. It’s 100 percent plant-based and just happens to be down-to-earth-delicious.” It’s an opinion that’s shared by others: Last month, Veg News ranked Native Foods the No. 1 vegan fast food chain in the country.
The Chef
Besides now being a locally owned company, Native Foods differentiates itself by featuring chef-crafted, scratch-made burgers, bowls, salad, soups, entrees, and sweets, which are now crafted by a local chef, Chris Bertke. “We hired chef Chris for his amazing talent and have been looking for a home for him ever since,” Warticovschi says.
“A lot of people locally are familiar with Native Foods and have asked me when we are bringing the concept here,” Warticovschi adds. “We decided that opening a store not only can serve as an R&D kitchen but also will satisfy an unmet need. We selected Clayton because of its centrality, and it allows us to expand in any direction in the future.”
Bertke, a vegan for the past 28 years, helped open Utah Station in 2019 but garnered the most attention by spearheading a nonsequitur of a concept, Vegan Deli & Butcher, on Main Street in St. Charles in 2020. As a vegan chef, Bertke began experimenting with meat substitutes by using wheat-based plant proteins, altering and perfecting them over the years. (He makes a vegan peppered pastrami, for example, with “fat cap” made from agar agar.) As executive chef, his responsibilities include recipe and menu development, as well as training kitchen staff.
The Menu
Bertke calls Native Foods “the OG of plant-based restaurants” and says the company has always been meticulous about adhering to the tenets of veganism. “When we say that ‘our meals are 100 percent plant-based, with no animal products of any kind,’ we mean ‘any kind,’” he says. “Some refined sugars, for example, contain bone char as a filtering agent. We make sure the sugars we buy are manufactured without it. A lot of vegan restaurants don’t drill down that deep.”
Popular items at Native Foods include the Poppin Jalapeño Burger, Cauliflower Chickpea Schwarma Wrap or Bowl, VeggRib Sandwich, and the Chicken/Bacon/Avocado Club (all pictured above). This month’s special (a Chris Bertke creation) is the Cubano Sandwich (see lead image), with house-made, thick-sliced tofu ham, plant-based Cuban-style pulled pork, plant-based Provolone, pickle slices, whole grain Dijon mustard, and plant-based mayo on a toasted and pressed baguette. Native Foods is also licensed to sell beer and wine.
The Location & Hours
The Clayton location measures 2,126 square feet and seats 65 people indoors. Carryout and delivery will also be available, utilizing all third-party platforms. The hours will be 11 a.m.–8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m.–9 p.m. Friday through Saturday.
