ROGERS PARK — The Amazing Kale Burger has found a home on the Rogers Park-Evanston border.
Owner Brandon Byxbe, 32, said he plans to bring his creation — a nutrition-packed veggie burger that's only sold at farmers markets and some neighborhood eateries — to his very own lunch counter.
He said his new restaurant, on the Evanston side of Howard Street, should open in November.
"Everyone eats like s--- right now, and I don't like it," the 32-year-old said about why he decided to expand the Amazing Kale Burger brand.
Byxbe said he first started making the 156-calorie burgers for himself before deciding to partner with Green Spirit Kitchen on Ridge Avenue and serve them at farmers markets.
Since then, they've been served at Howard Street's Peckish Pig, Jarvis Square's R Public House and Towbar, Morse Avenue's Act One Pub and The Dog Joint in Lincoln Park.
Over the summer he was using 100 bunches of kale to make 500 burgers a week.
The new storefront, at 741 W. Howard St., "was totally disgusting" when he first got the keys last month, he said.
But, he said, "I've been working my butt off" to clean it up.
When open, the only thing on the menu, except for toppings and a side or two, will be the eatery's namesake, the Amazing Kale Burger.
Byxbe is also raising money with a Kickstarter campaign for a 40-gallon steam kettle and a commercial oven.
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