One of the most popular frozen food companies is opening a restaurant
From its canned soups to its organic pizzas to its frozen dinners, the company offers a wide variety of easy-to-prepare meals without GMOs.
Time reports that Amy's Kitchen is opening up its very first drive-thru restaurant in Rohnert Park, California this summer. This venture has been in the works for more than two years.
"Everybody said we couldn't do it," co-founder Andy Berliner said to Time. "But we set up a test kitchen in our warehouse space and we did it. We learned how to do it from scratch very quickly."
Much like Chipotle, which recently nixed GMOs from its menu, the emphasis here is on the ingredients, as Time notes that over 50 employees are working to obtain raw ingredients directly from farmers.
The opening of the drive-thru is also well-timed. Consumers have been increasingly focused on eating well. Healthy eateries like Dig Inn and Sweetgreen have become wildly popular, and fast-food eateries Taco Bell and Pizza Hut have attempted to appeal to these consumers by stripping their menus items of artificial ingredients.
Time notes that, similarly to the company's frozen products, the drive-thru restaurant will offer gluten and dairy-free options, serving up options to customers. This is another potential boon to business, as chains that use a made-to-order model for their menus are blowing up: look no further than Pizza Studio, and the obvious - Chipotle.
Some consumers may be worried about the price point, as it's expensive to eat in a health-conscious manner, especially when you're on-the-go. But as Time reports, Amy's Drive-Thru will be wallet-friendly for the average consumer, with a single burger costing $2.99, a cheese pizza setting you back $5.89, and a burrito going for $4.69 - which is cheaper than a burrito at the fast food dynamo, Chipotle. With the rise of affordable, attainable healthy food, eating well may no longer be limited to the affluent.