THIS MEATLESS BURGER IS READY TO TAKE OVER NEW YORK

In Kingston, New York, off a roundabout where Route 28 meets Interstate 87, a drive-thru beckons with a red script font that glows “Moonburger,” serving vegetarian cheeseburgers and oat milkshakes. It’s a set-up familiar to anyone who has detoured off a main road for an easy enough burger in a rush. But Moonburger has several factors that differentiate it from the chain roadside attractions nearby — and not just because it calls food insiders like cookbook author Alison Roman a collaborator.

What began in 2021 in Kingston expanded in just a couple of years, with follow-ups in New Paltz, and as of April, in Poughkeepsie, attached to a Route 9 Mobil gas station, where cars lined up down the road during the opening. Now, founder Jeremy Robinson-Leon, alongside director of operations Michael Tuiach, a Shake Shack alum, are building on the template, and driving down a Moonburger location to Williamsburg, Brooklyn at 126 Bedford Avenue, at North 10th Street. It’s set to open this July.

While fast-food chains are increasingly jockeying for customers looking for meat-free options, “Moonburger is the first plant-based restaurant at a gas station in America,” Robinson-Leon said in an interview with the Times Union newspaper of the new Poughkeepsie outpost.

It’s incidental that Moonburgers are all vegetarian (with options to order vegan): It’s just smart business, he says. Unlike other meatless burger chains like Slutty Vegan that have found success in frontloading the word “meatless,” in the Moonburger branding, it is secondary.

“Since day one that the goal was to appeal to the mainstream, ie, people who love meat... could we create a burger that they would still come here for, and feel safe in trying it,” Robinson-Leon tells Eater. “We just want something that everyone can eat, while being mindful of price.” Burgers are under $8; a combo meal — with soda and fries — runs less than $13. “And, of course, fun.” It helps that Moonburger has personality — the burger shops are styled like spaceships.

Robinson-Leon and his stacked line-up of culinary advisors — which includes Roman, Amiel Stanek, a Bon Appetit contributing editor, Danielle Epstein, an interior designer for Moonburger, and Momofuku alum Anoop Pillarisetti, who will this month open Strange Delight in Fort Greene — eat meat, but they see Moonburger as representative of the times, as consumers try and lessen meat intake. It helps that decision-makers here are anything but the bigwigs in the C-suite of competing chains. They are people who have nabbed some of New York’s coolest food jobs, experts in branding and recipe testing.

While some are turning to handmade veggie patties, Moonburger doubles down on tech-backed, processed Impossible meat, for the effect of a burger that is quite convincing.

Unlike other fast food spots, Moonburger has a slender menu — regular or cheeseburger (gluten-free buns are available), fries, and a couple of shakes. The shakes — this month, strawberries blended with Lotus Biscoff cookies — use Oatly.

Moonburger fine-tunes the details that make it a standout: Dijon in the “special sauce,” griddled onions that get smashed into the burgers, the crispy fried onion for texture, and so on.

Robinson-Leon and his team have a knack for selecting locations — so far all three have been stationed to find a steady audience of city folk coming upstate, locals, and college students, near campuses like SUNY New Paltz. He’s over the moon about Williamsburg — the dream was always to bring a taste of upstate to Brooklyn, says Robinson-Leon.

The roughly 20-seat forthcoming location will not be a drive-thru, but it will be the first location to have a liquor license. Robinson-Leon says he worked on a canned wine, exclusive to Moonburger Williamsburg, with the soon-to-launch brand Oona. He hints that other collaborations and pop-ups specific to Brooklyn will follow. (Last fall, he hosted a burger cookout party nearby at Williamsburg pizzeria, Leo.)

The Brooklyn launch is just the beginning, says Robinson-Leon. The sky’s the limit. And, who knows, maybe the moon may really be made of cheese.

2024-05-08T16:03:03Z dg43tfdfdgfd