Lyfe Kitchen, Chicago-Based Healthy Fast Food Chain, Prepares For Launch With Former McDonald's Execs

Two veteran executives from McDonald's are starting a restaurant chain to revolutionize the fast-food industry -- by serving food that isn't harmful to your health.

Lyfe Kitchen, a Chicago-based company whose name is short for "Love Your Food Everyday," will be spearheaded by former Golden Arches President and Chief Operating Officer Mike Roberts, and former communications boss Mike Donahue, as the Chicago Tribune reports.

The business will aim for the increasingly popular "fast casual" segment of the restaurant market, serving up made-to-order cuisine in the vein of Panera or Chipotle. That segment grew 4 percent last year, while "quick-service" restaurants shrunk a small amount, according to Ad Age, which first broke news of the new company last summer. Dinner entrees are aimed at the $8-$12 range.

The Tribune describes some of the healthy options that will be available at Lyfe restaurants:

In the Lyfe kitchen, butter, cream and high-fructose corn syrup are banned, and none of the food is fried. Sweet potato fries, for instance, are oven-baked. All of Lyfe's menu items contain less than 600 calories, including signature dishes that include a Niman ranch beef burger with agave ketchup and pickles. The desserts are expected to be dairy-free.

And BrandChannel writes that the company is exploring options like rooftop herb gardens, biodegradable cutlery and grass parking lots to help expand its green profile.

It's targeted primarily at women, who are more likely to eschew traditional fast-food joints for a more healthful alternative, but the McD's execs are also using their burger-pushing expertise to make sure that the male demographic doesn't get turned off.

The first restaurant is slated to open in Palo Alto this summer, the Trib writes, with up to 250 planned nationally within five years.

While the Tribune story casts the chain in a quite positive light, Chicagoist won't let it off so easy. Lyfe "has some issues from the get-go," the blog comments: "their horrible name, their definition of healthy food and their strange gender politics."

The gender politics Chicagoist is referring to is Lyfe's plan to target women between the ages of 18 and 49. "While she's enjoying a grain salad, there's a beefy burger for her husband," writes Tribune reporter Emily Bryson York. It's not clear if that example comes from Lyfe or York, however.

Chicagoist particularly hates the all-out ban on certain ingredients, calling the decision "the sort of ham-fisted approach to health food that makes the dining public think anyone who wants to eat well is a militant hippie vegan."

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Comments

[vegandave]

09:19 PM on 02/16/2011

It's ridiculous to ban some animal products while still selling cow flesh. Agave ketchup on dead cow, come on. A vegan burger covered in Vegenaise or Heinz would be healthier for you. But I guess it is a start. Though if people really care about being healthy or green they need to just go vegan already! Most vegans I know eat a lot wider variety of food and enjoy food a lot more than the non-vegans I know. Of course, they are healthier and generally happier as well, maybe because of the knowledge that they are not causing over a hundred animals to suffer and die annually just to feed themselves, and that they are doing more good for the environment by being vegan than by driving a Prius.

[NewHope360 Editor]

03:18 PM on 02/15/2011

I'm wondering if sourcing issues will slow LYFE's aggressive expansion plans or force the company to backpedal on its sustainability goals. Sourcing locally and sustainably produced ingredients for a national fast food chain is difficult. Just ask Chipotle.

http://newhope360.com/food-and-beverage/move-over-big-mac-lyfe-kitchen-plans-bring-health-fast-food

[capitaldysfunction]

09:03 PM on 02/14/2011

Yes!! These guys probably brought a lot of ideas with them for healthy dishes that were considered and then rejected by the Mac. Rejections may be made for things like pitted olives that may contain pits and possible lawsuits. As a recent vegan convert, the weight loss benefits have put this 63 year old at a weight I haven't experienced since my early twenties. Too many friends with heart conditions have had their breast plates pried open and/or stints inserted, with second and third surgeries considered. There are also possible mental side effects of the procedures. Watch your cholesterol and go Lyfe!

[honeybear64]

12:49 AM on 02/13/2011

It's striking that they're lumping foods as natural as butter and cream into the same category as a frankenfood monstrosity like high fructose corn syrup. Eliminating the butter and cream DOES help keep the calorie content low, though.

Nixing those ingredients, and making the desserts dairy-free, does something else, too - it makes it possible to offer plenty of vegan options. This is where I think they need to get a better grip on how they're positioning themselves in the market. They say they don't want to "turn off" customers by using terms like "vegan", "gluten-free", or "dairy-free" on the menu. But surely they must realize that many customers who would patronize such a restaurant typically LIKE knowing the dietary "status" of the foods they eat. Let's face it: a person who is "scared" of words like "vegan" probably isn't going to be drawn to a restaurant whose menu is filled with items like veggie burgers and quinoa salad in the first place.

One thing that discourages some vegans, vegetarians, and those with food allergies from dining out is the social embarassment of having to interrogate waiters about the ingredients in a dish. An indication (it doesn't have to be very prominent) on the menu that a dish is soy-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, or what have you, would be a Godsend to many people.

They should celebrate, not be ashamed of, the fact that, unlike other restaurants, they're offering plenty of options for everyone.

[gretchenart]

10:23 PM on 02/12/2011

I was going to open a healthy fast food restaurant called Fit Fannies. Feel Fine with Fit Fannies' Fine Fast Food! But never got my fanny in gear to do so. However, the definition of "health" in this case seems a bit unbalanced. Not all dairy is bad and good natural fats are necessary to properly metabolize certain nutrients!

[Courgette]

05:49 PM on 03/12/2011

Gretchenart, I'd think twice about using "fanny" if I were you. That's a word with a very different definition to our British friends. As an experiment, try telling some young Brit that you're stuffing your "fanny pack" with energy bars, for example, and observe their reaction.

[kmkatoz]

05:41 PM on 02/11/2011

Sounds like a great idea - nice to have a choice! I hope it tastes yummy. That's how you get customers.

[kmkatoz]

05:40 PM on 02/11/2011

Sounds great to me -- nice to have a choice! Hopefully it will taste yummy. That's how they get customers.

[cw9580]

03:55 PM on 02/11/2011

I agree about the name, but there's no harm in true capitalist start up targeting a particular market segment . . they are not barring anyone who wants to be a customer. Excellent idea. Hope it flies!

[Aelfgifu]

09:11 AM on 02/11/2011

I'm concerned that they are only going to market this food as "healthy" while it really still isn't. The only example of a menu item in the article lists "agave ketchup." Agave is a trendy food right now, but it's not healthy by any stretch of the imagination.

[veritas88]

03:33 PM on 02/10/2011

I love Chipotle (mentioned in the article). I just wish they would reduce the sodium in their food.

[mmike1969]

01:55 AM on 02/10/2011

No butter and no fried foods... Yeah, I think I will rather eat at taco bell then...

[Aelfgifu]

09:12 AM on 02/11/2011

Good, less people in line in front of me when I try the new place. ;)

[Candi Cj Dubord Jensen]

09:43 PM on 02/09/2011

I'll be thrilled when they open in Ct! I've been wondering if we'll see some healthy fast-food chains...great alternative for travelers and people who just don't feel like cooking..you can only grab a salad from mcd's so often before it gets boring..lol

[Marturia]

09:21 PM on 02/09/2011

I've tried 'healthy' foods in McD's and Burger King like salads and fruit cups, but they always smell and taste like ammonia. There must be a way to maintain freshness without the nasty chemicals.

[Flying Dutchman]

05:18 AM on 02/10/2011

Those salad-dressings contain more fat and sugar than a Big Mac or a Whopper, I'm afraid almost all chain-restaurants serve very unhealthy dressings, that's a pity though because those dressings can be very tasty.

[GrandmaG]

04:36 PM on 02/10/2011

And they really aren't THAT healthy.

[Kathy Dukes]

08:13 PM on 02/09/2011

Years ago a chain called D'Lites had stores in Atlanta - they were fabulous and well ahead of their time. Hope these catch on. We travel often by car and it would be great to be able to find good healthy food on the road.

[Jewels23]

04:23 PM on 02/09/2011

Love it!
Every summer we drive from Texas to Iowa up I35 and search in vane for healthy food along the highway (subway is best) -- but would love more options along the highway -- at Food Courts, something quick and fresh to pick up after a late soccer practice. I think it should be a winner.

[tomteboda]

01:13 AM on 02/10/2011

I wish SweetTomatoes (SoupPlantation) would open in the midwest.