If you were looking to build the next great restaurant chain, surely you'd start with a burger. Or some delicious, oily chicken. Or deli sandwiches. No one has ever made it big in America with veggie burgers and vegan brownies.
Then again, Americans have never been fatter, nor have the trumpets of moderation ever been sounded so loudly. Movies and books lecture the country about laying off the fat and salt, and packaged-food companies have been changing their recipes in response to consumer requests and to anticipate new government dietary guidelines that call for healthier eating.
Bring in two former McDonald's executives and an Oprah celebrity chef. They are betting that their restaurant concept, Lyfe Kitchen, an acronym for Love Your Food Everyday, will unlock the recipe to successfully selling healthy food to the masses. The restaurants will be a step up from fast food, fitting into the fast-casual segment where food is made to order, like at Panera Bread or Chipotle.
Chicago-based Lyfe plans to open its first restaurant in Palo Alto, Calif., late this summer, and a handful of additional Northern California locations are in the works. Within five years, the company is said to be planning as many as 250 restaurants nationally, including Chicago, although executives declined to confirm the target.
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