Vegans are loving it: Anti-McDonald’s plants a stake in Hillcrest and Pacific Beach

It is a company that refers to itself as “sarcastic disruptors.” Yet it earnestly adheres to a creed of compassion, community involvement, and veganism.

Add to the business model a name derived from 1969 Grateful Dead song Cosmic Charlie, and you end up with the rapidly growing McDonald’s-like chain called Mr. Charlie’s.

In the coming month or two, the eatery will open at the prime Hillcrest address of 3896 Fifth Ave., at the corner of University Avenue, where Chocolat last resided. It will also launch in Pacific Beach at 1560 Garnet Ave., which was previously occupied by Brazilian Bowls.

Both locations will offer the same menu, along with a design scheme of red and yellow.

It is a color combo that Mr. Charlie’s co-founder, Taylor McKinnon, said has been scientifically shown to evoke nostalgia and appetite. (Think McDonald’s, Burger King, Carl’s Jr., and In-N-Out Burger.)

Turning a life around

McKinnon, originally from England, was homeless and battling addiction 11 years ago.

Through moral support and financial help he received from the Dream Center in Los Angeles, he was able to turn his life around and tap into his inventive, humanitarian self.

He subsequently fell in love with a woman, whom he later married. They now have two young sons. He also teamed up with business partner and photographer Aaron Haxton to start a marketing agency 10 years ago in Los Angeles called Clyde + Seventh.

But the magic moment in McKinnon’s career hit when he and Haxton debuted Mr. Charlie’s in Hollywood in 2022. It generated immediate fanfare, and even a celebrity endorsement from Mike Tyson.

Expanding the plant-based brand

Since then, franchised locations of Mr. Charlie’s have emerged in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sydney, Australia. In the coming year, 13 others are due to open throughout Arizona.

“We wanted something that’s going to make you feel like a kid, with a little bit of a circus look in classic American fun colors,” said McKinnon, who attended catering school and created menus while working in restaurants throughout the UK before moving to California.

The food choices at Mr. Charlie’s appear remarkably similar to the top sellers at McDonald’s, with the exception that everything is plant-based. Burger and chicken patties, as well as the “Not Chicken Nuggets,” are made with organic non-GMO soy. And the produce used for garnishments is also organic.

“You can taste the difference when there are no pesticides. This is fast food re-imagined,” McKinnon noted.

A double-patty burger, called a Mr. Chuck, is something like a McDonald’s Big Mac.

The patties are separated by a middle crust-less bun and complemented by shredded lettuce, pickles, diced onions, yellow vegan cheese, and “Mr. Chuck Sauce.”

San Diegans will soon determine how well it compares to the “special sauce” at McDonald’s.

Visually, the “Mr. Royale With Cheese” strikes an identical pose to the McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with its thicker patty, sliced onions, mustard, ketchup, and sesame bun.

The menu also gives way to the familiarity of single burgers (with or without vegan cheese), plus the “Double Not” burger resembling a McDouble.

In the morning hours, customers will even find that they carry vegan “Mr. Muffin” breakfast sandwiches, using classic English muffins dusted in cornmeal.

McKinnon points out that the French fries served at Mr. Charlie’s are fried in high-quality sunflower oil rich in omega-3 fatty acids. They’re served in none other than red cardboard jackets.

As for the name of the chain, McKinnon said that “Mr. Charlie” is an ode to “Cosmic Charlie,” the title of a song on the Grateful Dead’s 1969 album, Aoxomoxoa.

“It’s a song that gives off unconditional, loving vibrations,” he said, adding that it fits into the company’s non-discriminatory hiring process, which is currently underway in San Diego.

“Mr Charlie’s will never judge anybody based on their past struggles or where they come from,” he said. “It takes all of us to make this work.”