One of Ann Arbor's most popular food carts has announced plans to make downtown a more permanent home. In three years,
The Lunch Room has transitioned from pop-up restaurant to food cart in Mark's Carts, and beginning in June, into a Kerrytown restaurant.
"I'm hoping we'll add a burst of excitement and cooperation and that will fill a niche that isn't being filled," says Phillis Engelbert, who owns The Lunch Room along with her partner, Joel Panozzo. "There is no other establishment in Kerrytown that is open for dinner hours right now."
The 1,128 square foot restaurant at the
Kerrytown Market and Shops will be a significant jump from the 60 square foot food cart, and Engelbert says the expansion will have a big impact on The Lunch Room's menu.
"Our hands will be untied by the restrictions we had in the cart," she says. "We couldn't cook things to order in the cart. Now we'll be flipping flapjacks on the griddle and fixing things to order."
The extra room will also allow them to add breakfast and Saturday and Sunday brunches to their menu. Though The Lunch Room is a vegan food cart, Engelbert and Panozzo pride themselves on finding innovative ways to create vegan versions of traditionally non-vegan dishes, such as burgers, tacos, mac and cheese, and reubens.
The partners chose the Kerrytown location for its proximity to their former location, hoping to make an easy transition for their customers.
"And we wanted to be in downtown Ann Arbor, and that's kind of where the action is," says Engelbert. "We like the concept of Kerrytown because there is a community here, and we're right next to the farmers market, so we can get our fresh produce right there."
Source: Phillis Engelbert, The Lunch Room
Writer: Natalie Burg, Development News Editor
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