Vegan Angelinos can rejoice: cult favorite vegan fast food joint, Mr. Charlie’s I Told You So, is now offering his frowny specials at a new store on the west side.
Known as Mr. Charlie’s, the growing franchise garnered a devoted following by deviating from other SoCal vegan franchises. Popular local vegan chains like Monty’s and Plant Power created their own brand identities, but Mr. Charlie’s heavily leaned into their reputation as a “vegan McDonalds” by parodying the fast food juggernaut to the point of testing fair use laws. Branding materials and interiors are bright red and yellow, and the packaging is a callback to the yellow wrappers McDonalds used in the 1980s and Happy Meal boxes, except the boxes frown and menu copy is dripping with sarcasm.
Mr. Charlie’s new store is where eastern Santa Monica ends and Brentwood begins, just down the street from celeb magnet Brentwood Country Mart. In a sea of organic juiceries and Pilates studios, Mr. Charlie’s allows locals to indulge with 100% plant-based fast food classics like Not a Burger and Frowny Fries. There are even vegan Mr. Muffins if you always liked the idea of a breakfast sandwich but aren’t down with eggs and sausage.
The airy interior features your standard long coffee shop table and some outdoor seats to watch for famous people coming and going from Brentwood Country Mart, and a few aesthetic mirrored booths. Elder Millennials who miss the OG McDonald’s PlayPlace will smile at the kids’ play area near the front.
Mr. Charlie’s has another LA store on La Brea off Melrose in addition to San Francisco and Sydney, Australia. The Brentwood store is just the start of their expansion out west: they plan to build at least 18 more stores in the greater Phoenix area and Scottsdale, AZ.
Mr. Charlie’s Brentwood is located on 262 26th Street between San Vicente Boulevard and Carlyle Avenue, and they are open daily from 9AM to 9PM (10PM Fridays and Saturdays.)
