The UK’s first permanent vegan ‘butcher’ has revealed the store sold out on its first day, with 100 online orders in ten minutes.
Rudy’s Vegan Butcher opened its doors today, on World Vegan Day, in trendy Islington, north London, serving faux versions of bacon, chicken, and turkey made from soya and seitan.
The alternatives on sale include homemade pastrami, dirty burger patties, cheeze sauce & chilli-non-carne, as well as a rack of jack, lobstah salad, meatballs, chick’n lover pate and shredded BBQ pulled porc.
Rudy’s Vegan Butcher opened it’s doors today, on World Vegan Day, in trendy Islington, north London, serving faux versions of bacon, chicken, and turkey made from soya and seitan. Pictured, Rudy’s interior
Sharing a video of the huge queue for the butchers on Instagram today, the butchers revealed the store sold out on its first day, with 100 online orders in ten minutes
Sharing a video of the huge queue for the butchers on Instagram, Rudy’s wrote: ‘This was the line at 10:54am before we even opened and it didn’t slow down for hours! 100 online orders in the first ten minutes!
‘Thank you to everyone who stopped by, messaged with love, ordered online and and shouted out our news. It was an unbelievable turn out.
‘We are so blessed to have your support and feel overwhelmed by all the love. THANK YOU, thank you a million times and more.’
For the launch day, the shop gave away 100lbs of free baycon to the first 200 customers through the door.
For their launch day, the shop provided away 100 lbs of free baycon to the first 200 customers through the door
Though it isn’t the first vegan butcher to open in the UK, it is the first to have a permanent base, with others being temporary pop-ups.
Last year, Unilever backed Dutch-brand The Vegetarian Butcher , opened a pop-up shop in carcass wholesalers Hill & Szrok in Bethnal Green, east London.
The store stirred up some debate on social media ahead of it’s launch last month, with Actor Charlie Condou uploading an image of the shop’s front on Twitter, where it sparked discussion over the legitimacy of calling a plant-based outlet using the word ‘butcher’.
Piers Morgan retweeted the post and said: ‘A vegan butcher’s shop… and people wonder why I’ve written a book about the world going nuts.’
Ahead of its launch, the eatery released a mocked-up photos of its produce, which looks just like a traditional butcher, though all its items are entirely plant-based
For those outside of London who want to get their hands on some vegan meat, Rudy’s will be delivering nationwide – with all orders on World Vegan Day coming with a free pack of baycon. The shop – which also has its own restaurant in Camden – already sell DIY kits at home (pictured)
Some social media users poked fun at the business, while others said it would be a helpful convenience for those who don’t eat animal products.
Comedian Sue Perkins said: ‘Carving florets since 2020…’, while another Twitter user said: ‘Isn’t that just a greengrocer?’
Another said: It’s outrageous and unacceptable to butcher hapless vegans for their meat.’
Ahead of the shop’s launch, the owners released CGI versions the store, which looks just similar to a traditional butcher, but with all its items entirely plant-based.
Actor Charlie Condou uploaded an image of the shop’s front – which reads ‘Rudy’s Vegan Butcher, Est. 2020, London’ – on Twitter. Piers Morgan retweeted the post and said: ‘A vegan butcher’s shop… and people wonder why I’ve written a book about the world going nuts’
While founder Jaap Korteweg has his own plant-based butcher in The Hague, his London takeover was only temporary and the traditional east end shop is now selling meat again.
Sainsbury’s also opened a temporary meat-free butcher shop in Bethnal Green in 2019.
The shop, which sold Cumberland Shroomdogs and Veggie Ribz, was only open for two days.
For those outside of London who want to get their hands on some vegan meat, Rudy’s delivers nationwide – with all orders on World Vegan Day coming with a free pack of baycon.
The shop – which also has its own restaurant in Camden – also sell DIY kits at home.