LYFE Kitchen

Last updated
LYFE Kitchen
Industry Restaurants
Founded2011
FounderMike Roberts
Stephen Sidwell
Mike Donahue
Headquarters Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Number of locations
3 (2018) [1]
Area served
United States-Illinois
Key people
Gail Taggart (CEO)
Website www.LYFEKitchen.com

LYFE Kitchen is an American fast-casual restaurant chain operating in Illinois. [2] The company's name is an acronym that stands for "Love Your Food Everyday". [3] LYFE promises functional, locally sourced foods and does not use artificial ingredients. They strive to use 100% biodegradable, compostable, recyclable packaging. [4]

Contents

LYFE was founded in 2011 by Mike Roberts, the former global president of McDonald's, Stephen Sidwell, and Mike Donahue, McDonald's former chief of corporate communications in Palo Alto, California. [2]

History

Roberts' business partner, Stephen Sidwell, approached Roberts and Mike Donahue (also a former McDonald's executive) with a business idea for a healthier brand of fast-food. By March 2010, they had created a sample menu with the help of Oprah's celebrity chefs, Art Smith and Tal Ronnen. [5]

In August 2011, LYFE Kitchen opened it first location in Palo Alto, California. Then CEO Mike Roberts told the Palo Alto Patch, "We chose Palo Alto because of the people, because of the innovative spirit here. Because a lot of early adopters to movements that move across the country start here in California. We can get our produce here fresh, local, organic, hormone-free, antibiotic-free, all within a hundred miles of Palo Alto". [6] The restaurant was met with positive reviews from critics and locals, and the company soon expanded to other locations throughout California. [7] By 2013, LYFE Kitchen opened its first franchise location in Chicago. [8]

During 2013, the "Lyfe Kitchen Retail" division was launched to sell a number of trans fat-free frozen entrees through Target, Publix, Safeway, Amazon, and other outlets. Later, this division was renamed "Luvo Inc." after being bought by its current CEO, former Lululemon CEO Christine Day. [9]

In May 2014, restaurant developer Carlisle Corp. made a large, undisclosed investment in LYFE Kitchen and prompted the relocation of its company's headquarters from Chicago to Memphis. [10] It was also announced that Chance Carlisle was to succeed Mike Roberts as LYFE's chief executive officer. While, Roberts still holds a place as a member of LYFE's board. [11]

The first LYFE Kitchen in Memphis opened in 2015 and was the first LYFE Kitchen to have a bar. In 2016, another LYFE Kitchen opened in Memphis on South Main. However, in 2018, Gail Taggert, co-founder of L3 Hospitality, announced that Carlisle Corp. would be selling LYFE Kitchen brand back to the LYFE Kitchen franchisee based out of Chicago. The decision was made based upon Carlisle Corp. refocusing its efforts on its current Wendy's restaurants and the desire to go from 74 locations to 152 across the southeastern United States in the next couple years. In addition, they are one of the developers working on the One Beale project in downtown Memphis which seeks to transform the Memphis riverfront.

In a statement, CEO Chance Carlisle stated: "LYFE Kitchen was a fantastic brand that looks to change how we perceive ‘healthy food’. Unfortunately, as we aligned our strategic priorities, we did not have the time or resources necessary to fulfill LYFE’s potential and felt a divesture made sense of all parties. We have our plate full with the start of One Beale and the continued opportunistic growth of our Wendy’s business as we continue to evaluate expansion options." [12]

Currently, there is only one LYFE Kitchen open and it is located in Chicago, Illinois.

Food Sourcing and Preparation

Since its conception, LYFE Kitchen has made local sourcing and sustainability a major focus of its business. Its overall mission statement states, "Great food can do amazing things. It can make you feel better. It can support local farms. Promote sustainability. Reward environmentally sound businesses. Give back to the community." [13] LYFE uses all grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, and sustainable raised seafood and claims to source its ingredients locally whenever possible. [14] The chain also uses Gardein foods, which contain meat-free proteins, on some of their salads and pizzas. [6]

All of LYFE Kitchen's items are prepared in-store and LYFE utilizes computerized ordering, cooking, and delivery systems to increase efficiency without using pre-prepared ingredients. Customer orders are entered into a software program which divides the meal into separate elements that are sent to different stations according to their relative cooking times. A plater assembles the finished product from their stations and serves it to the customer who has a GPS-tracking coaster. The activity is all tracked in real time. [3] [15]

Store Design

LYFE Kitchen reflects its sustainable "lyfestyle" branding through its store design. According to co-founder Mike Roberts, "In addition to offering great-tasting, good-for-you food, we believe that LYFE Kitchen will also serve as a place where guests feel good about the sustainability measures taken to ensure an environmental stewardship". [16] Design consultant Margee Drews incorporated many "green" elements into interior store design, including sofas made from recycled milk containers, bamboo floors, countertops made from recycled glass, and energy-efficient fixtures. In addition, all the stores feature an interior herb wall designed and planted by Plant Manager Maureen Roberts, the wife of co-founder Mike Roberts. [17]

LYFE Kitchen staff members are outfitted with uniforms made of eco-friendly canvas and cotton. In place of disposable cups, plates, and utensils, the restaurant serves food on china. [16] LYFE Kitchen operations maintain efficiency standards in their restaurants for electricity, water, food waste, air quality, and recycling. For their efforts, they have been certified by the United States Green Building Council, the International WELL Building Institute, and LEED. [18] [19]

Social Responsibility

Besides its local sourcing methods, LYFE Kitchen is involved in many community and environmental outreach programs. One of its larger initiatives is working with and maintaining the standards of the Global Animal Partnership, a nonprofit organization that connects restaurants, retailers, farmers, and scientists to promote the welfare of animals in agriculture. [20] In addition, each LYFE Kitchen restaurant is involved in local charities in their area and do works such as building local parks or donating meals to food programs in the area. [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chipotle Mexican Grill</span> American Mexican restaurant chain

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., often known simply as Chipotle, is an international chain of fast casual restaurants specializing in bowls, tacos, and Mission burritos made to order in front of the customer. As of June 30, 2024, Chipotle has 3,500 restaurants. Its name derives from chipotle, the Nahuatl name for a smoked and dried jalapeño chili pepper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanford Shopping Center</span> Shopping mall in Palo Alto, California, U.S.

Stanford Shopping Center is an upscale open air shopping mall located on Route 82 at Sand Hill Road in Palo Alto, California. It is on the campus of Stanford University although the university only owns the land and not the actual buildings or stores. Also, unlike the main academic campus, the shopping center and the neighboring Stanford University Medical Center are part of the city of Palo Alto, not the census-designated place (CDP) of Stanford, California. The shopping center buildings are 94.4% owned by Simon Property Group, which manages the property and leases the land from the university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotteria</span> South Korean fast food restaurant chain

LOTTERIA is a South Korean company that operates a chain of fast food restaurants in East Asia, having opened its first restaurant in Tokyo in September 1972. Taking its name from its parent company, Lotte Corporation, it currently has franchises in Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. The origin of the name is a combination of corporate names Lotte and Cafeteria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PepsiCo</span> American multinational food and beverage corporation

PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of its products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company and Frito-Lay, Inc., PepsiCo has since expanded from its namesake product Pepsi Cola to an immensely diversified range of food and beverage brands. The largest and most recent acquisition was Pioneer Foods in 2020 for US$1.7 billion and prior to it was buying the Quaker Oats Company in 2001, which added the Gatorade brand to the Pepsi portfolio and Tropicana Products in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy's Kitchen</span> Organic convenience food company

Amy's Kitchen, Inc., doing business as Amy's, is a family-owned, privately-held American company based in Petaluma, California, that manufactures organic and non-GMO convenience and frozen foods. Founded in 1987 by Andy and Rachel Berliner, and incorporated in 1988, the company took its name from their daughter, Amy. All of Amy's 250+ products are vegetarian and made with organic ingredients. The company also operates a chain of three vegetarian fast food restaurants in California called Amy's Drive Thru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McDonald's</span> American fast food restaurant corporation

McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger stand and later turned the company into a franchise, with the Golden Arches logo being introduced in 1953 at a location in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1955, Ray Kroc, a businessman, joined the company as a franchise agent and, in 1961, bought out the McDonald brothers. Previously headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, it moved to nearby Chicago in June 2018. McDonald's is also a real estate company through its ownership of around 70% of restaurant buildings and 45% of the underlying land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lululemon Athletica</span> Multinational athletic apparel retailer

Lululemon athletica inc., commonly known as lululemon, is an American-Canadian multinational premium athletic apparel retailer headquartered in British Columbia and incorporated in Delaware, United States. It was founded in 1998 as a retailer of yoga pants and other yoga wear, and has expanded to also sell athletic wear, lifestyle apparel, accessories, and personal care products. The company has 711 stores and sells online.

Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., formerly Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (1981–2014) and Keurig Green Mountain (2014–2018), is a publicly traded American beverage and coffeemaker conglomerate with headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts and Frisco, Texas. Formed in July 2018, with the merger of Keurig Green Mountain and Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Keurig Dr Pepper offers over 125 hot and cold beverages. The company's Canadian business unit subsidiary operates as Keurig Dr Pepper Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of McDonald's</span>

The American fast-food restaurant chain McDonald's was founded in 1940 and has since grown to the world's largest restaurant chain by revenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criticism of McDonald's</span>

The American restaurant chain McDonald's has been criticised for numerous aspects of its business, including the health effects of its products, its treatment of employees, the environmental impact of its operations, and other business practices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Druther's</span> American fast food restaurant

Druther's is a restaurant, formerly a chain of fast food restaurants that began as Burger Queen restaurants started in Winter Haven, Florida in 1956, and then based in Louisville, Kentucky from 1963 until 1981. The name was a play on the word "druthers", and the mascot was a giant female bee named Queenie Bee. In 1981, Burger Queen changed to Druther's restaurants, although the changes were mostly cosmetic. One reason given for the name change was to eliminate the perception that they specialized in only hamburgers when they also had fried chicken and a serve-yourself salad bar. Druther's featured a character named "Andy Dandytale" on its kids meal items. The chain's slogan was "I'd Ruther Go to Druther's Restaurant." As of April 2024, the company operates 1 location in Kentucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farm-to-table</span> Movement promoting food from local farms

Farm-to-table is a social movement which promotes serving local food at restaurants and school cafeterias, preferably through direct acquisition from the producer. This might be accomplished by a direct sales relationship, a community-supported agriculture arrangement, a farmer's market, a local distributor or by the restaurant or school raising its own food. Farm-to-table often incorporates a form of food traceability where the origin of the food is identified to consumers. Often restaurants cannot source all the food they need for dishes locally, so only some dishes or only some ingredients are labelled as local.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jubilant FoodWorks</span> Indian restaurant company

Jubilant FoodWorks Limited is an Indian food service company based in Noida, which holds the master franchise for Domino's Pizza in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, for Popeyes in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan, and also for Dunkin' Donuts in India. The company also operates two homegrown restaurant brands called Ekdum! and Hong's Kitchen. Jubilant FoodWorks is a part of the Jubilant Bhartia Group, owned by Shyam Sunder Bhartia and Hari Bhartia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Umami Burger</span> American restaurant chain

Umami Burger is a hamburger chain based in Los Angeles, California. The name refers to the umami (savory) flavor. The restaurant was founded by Adam Fleischman, and it is part of the Umami Restaurant Group. Umami Burger offers waiter service, and most locations have a full bar. Its first restaurant opened in Los Angeles in 2009. As of 2017, Umami Burger had over 25 locations across California, Florida, Illinois, Japan, Nevada, and New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guzman y Gomez</span> Australian dining and fast-food chain

Guzman y Gomez is a Mexican casual and fast food restaurant chain based in Australia. Many restaurants also serve coffee through the “Cafe Hola” brand which operates during the morning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virtual restaurant</span> Delivery-only restaurant

A virtual restaurant, also known as a ghost kitchen, cloud kitchen or dark kitchen, is a food service business that serves customers exclusively by delivery and pick-up based on phone and online ordering. Virtual restaurants are stand-alone businesses that either operate out of an existing restaurant's kitchen or from a separate kitchen set-up away from a restaurant. By not having a full-service restaurant with a storefront and dining room, virtual restaurants can economize by occupying cheaper real estate. The reduced space lowers overall overhead and operational costs, thus yielding higher profit margins, as the price of the food provided is typically not changed. The virtual restaurant's single kitchen format allows for multiple brands to share kitchen space.

The presence of pizza restaurant chains has contributed to a significant increase in pizza consumption in Mainland China and Hong Kong. This also had an effect of introducing cheese as a culinary ingredient and everyday food in China, which was relatively uncommon in Chinese cuisine prior to the emergence of pizza chains. Pizza Hut opened its first store in China in 1990, and several pizza restaurant chains exist in China today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McDonald's Philippines</span> Philippines division of McDonalds

McDonald's Philippines, known locally and colloquially and shortened as McDo, is the master franchise of the multinational fast food chain McDonald's in the Philippines. The master franchise is held by the Golden Arches Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Alliance Global Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westlife Foodworld</span> India fast food holding company

Westlife Foodworld Limited is an Indian fast food restaurant holding company. Its wholly owned subsidiary Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd. (HRPL) holds the master franchise for McDonald's in western India and South India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operations of KFC by country</span>

KFC is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, one of the largest restaurant companies in the world. KFC had sales of $23 billion in 2013. KFC is incorporated under Delaware General Corporation Law, and has its headquarters at 1441 Gardiner Lane, Louisville, Kentucky, in a three-story colonial style building known colloquially as the "White House" due to its resemblance to the US president's home. The headquarters contain executive offices and the company's research and development facilities.

References

  1. ↑ Thorn, Bret. [lyfekitchen.comt], "Nation's Restaurant News", 24 November 2014.
  2. 1 2 Peterson, Hayley. "Two Former McDonald's Executives Are Leading A Fast-Food Revolution", "Business Insider", 28 July 2014.
  3. 1 2 Kaufman, Frederick. "Former McDonald’s Honchos Take On Sustainable Cuisine", Wired , 31 July 2013.
  4. ↑ https://www.lyfekitchen.com/
  5. ↑ Gladstone, E.C. "Art Smith and Former McDonald's COO Mike Roberts Open Lyfe Kitchen", "Bon Appétit", 27 March 2013.
  6. 1 2 Selverston, Aaron. "Q&A: Can LYFE Kitchen be a Healthy McDonald's?", "Palo Alto Patch", 27 July 2011.
  7. ↑ Karnes, Beatrice. "After Wowing Palo Alto, LYFE Kitchen is Ready for Expansion", "Palo Alto Patch", 19 October 2012.
  8. ↑ "LYFE Kitchen Open Restaurant in the Windy City", "Businessweek", 15 November 2013.
  9. ↑ Little, Katie (14 January 2014). "Outgoing Lululemon CEO Christine Day names her next venture". CNBC . Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  10. ↑ Poe, Ryan."LYFE Kitchen to move HQ to Memphis, open 2 restaurants", "Memphis Business Journal", 13 August 2014.
  11. ↑ Ruggless, Ron."Wendy’s franchisee acquires minority stake in LYFE Kitchen", "Nation's Restaurant News", 15 August 2014.
  12. ↑ Ellis, Susan. "LYFE Kitchen Closed" "Memphis Flyer", 21 September 2018.
  13. ↑ Wu, Judy. "The LYFE Story: A Conversation with Nate Cooper & Jeremy Bringardner", "Gapers Block", 13 October 2014.
  14. ↑ Berry, Donna. "LYFE Kitchen exemplifies mindful dining", "Food Business News" 18 November 2014.
  15. ↑ Bittman, Mark. "Yes, Healthful Fast Food Is Possible. But Edible?", "The New York Times", 3 April 2013.
  16. 1 2 "Lyfe Kitchen Delivers a Comfortable Haven Dedicated to environmental Responsibility", "LYFE Kitchen"
  17. ↑ "LYFE Kitchen: Beyond Good Design", "Synergy Restaurant Consultants", 9 December 2012.
  18. ↑ "WORLD’S FIRST WELL CERTIFIED RESTAURANTS INTRODUCED BY DELOS" Archived 2015-05-06 at the Wayback Machine , "Lyfe Kitchen", 8 Dec 2012.
  19. ↑ "Lyfe Kitchen Brings Unique Lifestyle Brand to Customers in Irvine", "Global News Wire", 21 October 2014
  20. ↑ "Global Animal Partnership", "Global Animal Partnership"
  21. ↑ "LYFE Kitchen Restaurant Grows In So-Cal with an emphasis on 'local'", "PRNewswire", 9 March 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.