London Inc. May/June 2021 - 26

Upfront Strategy

VEGAN MEETS TECH

Smart kitchens, a public offering, data
optimization and a bunch of new (small)
stores. What the heck is Globally Local
cooking up?
VEGANS, VEGETARIANS AND omnivores alike in the city
likely know of Globally Local (www.globallylocal.ca) - the
vegan fast-food concept that for years nipped around the
edges of the London food scene, ﬁrst with a food truck, then
as playful antagonists at Ribfest, and later with a couple
restaurant locations (one downtown, one in the east end).
Popular for their almost freakishly convincing riffs on
established fast-food items like the Big Mac, by the time they
opened a restaurant in downtown Toronto in 2019, it seemed
like Globally Local was on a steady, upward trajectory.
Recently, however, Globally Local has been a quieter
presence in London. Their east-end location on Highbury
Avenue has been closed for a while, and in March, they
announced that they'd be closing their original Dundas
Street unit and moving to a new spot on Commissioners
Road.
But what might have been interpreted as a retreat from
downtown was more of a staging for a much larger corporate
expansion: a merger with Vancouver-based Black Lion
Capital and the subsequent forming of Globally Local
Technologies Inc., a public listing on the TSX Venture
Exchange announced in mid-April and a pivot in identity
away from vegan fast-food company to a technology company
that happens to be in the food business.
Curious minds started to wonder: What is Globally Local
up to, anyways?

" PEOPLE MAKE DECISIONS ON A DOLLAR WHEN IT COMES TO
FAST FOOD. A DOLLAR'S HUGE IN THE FAST-FOOD INDUSTRY "
-James McInnes
" Our plan, basically, is to do a massive expansion across
North America, " co-founder James McInnes says. But not
just any kind of expansion - the expansion that Globally
Local is pitching is one based around automation, data,
delivery and an adherence to the fast-food dogma that their
menu items taste the same way, every time.
Coupled with their sustainability mission, McInnes says,
Globally Local is charting a new course for themselves and
a new operating model for vegan food.
That expansion will be starting soon, with ﬁve locations
across Southwestern Ontario (including the new location in
London) set to be rolled out this year.
26 | londonincmagazine.ca | MAY / JUNE 2021

Globally Local co-founders Vasiliki and James McInnes
http://www.globallylocal.ca http://www.londonincmagazine.ca
London Inc. May/June 2021

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