London-based Odd Burger opens new location at Western University

A fast food outlet that got its start in London is providing diners at Western University’s food hub with a new vegan option.

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Monday marked the grand opening of Odd Burger‘s 13th location across the country and the second in its home city. It’s not only the company’s first on-campus location at a college or university, but doubles as the first 100 per cent vegan fast food restaurant on any Canadian university campus, Western says.

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“It’s extremely exciting to not only launch it here at Western University, but to be the first in Canada to launch on a university campus, that 100 per cent vegan fast food franchise concept. That’s huge for us,” said Colin Porter, director of hospitality services at Western. The restaurant is also the first at Western to utilize digital kiosks for ordering food.

There is a huge demand from students for healthy and vegan food options on campus, Porter said. A survey about plant-based food options had 1,100 respondents, which also highlighted the demand, he said. A news release from Odd Burger earlier this month estimates about 8,000 students dining at the food hub daily during the school year.

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Finding a concept that helped fill a gap in service and introducing the first university vegan fast foot chain was exciting for Porter, but what was more exciting was opening a locally-sourced and founded franchise with a Western connection.

“It was just a whole circular moment that just fell into my lap, like, by chance,” he said. “It’s a connection back to the community, but also meeting demand from students.”

The restaurant, which was founded as Globally Local in 2014, specializes in plant-based protein products and dairy-free sauces. While founded and headquartered in London, and with a location at 645 Commissioners Rd. E., the company has expanded across southern Ontario to Hamilton, Oakville, Oshawa, Toronto, Vaughn, Waterloo, Whitby and Windsor, in addition to Calgary and Regina.

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Odd Burger said it plans to open more franchises in Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria.

James McInnes, Odd Burger’s chief executive and co-founder, called the grand opening “a surreal moment” not only for expanding the company’s footprint in its home city, but for a sense of returning back to campus to breathe new life into the community center foodhub.

McInnes, a Western alumnus, said the Western food hub is the perfect location to introduce young people to a sustainable, plant-based diet.

“(Students) can now experience our burger and realize that eating plant based can taste amazing, and . . . there’s no sacrifice at all, they’re not actually missing anything,” he said. “I think the idea and the ability for us to now impact people at that sort of formative time in their lives is really, really exciting for us.”

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McInnes said working with Fanshawe College “is another big priority for us.” The company hopes Monday’s opening can set an example for other Canadian educational institutions.

Meanwhile, he said Odd Burger continues its nationwide expansion, and continues to roll out its retail product line that can be found in select grocery stores.

In June 2022, the company announced it planned to build a $20-million, 5,000 square-meter (54,000-square-feet) plant on two hectares on Innovation Drive to help feed both its fast food and retail expansion across Canada.

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