Fans Of Amy's Frozen Meals Will Love Its California Drive-Thru Chain

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Touted as the very first vegetarian, organic fast-food chain in the U.S., a restaurant known as Amy's Drive Thru can currently be found in California. Locations include dining spots in Rohnert Park, Corte Madera, and the San Francisco International Airport, and the chain has plans to expand up to 30 locations all over the West Coast. As you enjoy organic, plant-based burgers, milkshakes, pizza, burritos, and more at the unique establishment (all with gluten-free and vegan options available), you may recognize some familiar flavors if you've ever bought prepackaged Amy's Kitchen items from your local grocery store. Yes, the company behind the drive-thru and the ready-to-eat dinners is the one and the same.

Amy's Kitchen launched its fast-food concept in 2015, over 20 years after the company's founders first started their homegrown prepackaged food business. For fans of Amy's ready-to-heat-and-eat products, like the brand's tomato soup, mac & cheese, and canned chili, a trip to an Amy's Drive Thru yields hot and fresh versions of some of the items you've bought frozen or canned. While the drive-thru products are unique to the restaurants, not identical versions of the prepackaged foods, nevertheless, the roots of many of the chain's dishes are easily traceable to their heat-and-eat counterparts.

Menu items at Amy's Drive Thru include fast food favorites and unique additions, like Classic Mac 'N' Cheese, Broccoli Cheddar Mac, and Chili Mac 'N' Cheese (frozen, microwavable versions of which the company also sells in stores). The restaurants additionally serve up the brand's chili as a standalone dish, in brown rice bowl meals, and slathered atop french fries. Hot, freshly made versions of Amy's burritos can be ordered, as can baked-fresh renditions of Amy's pizzas, grilled-up varieties of the company's veggie burgers, and some of the Amy's Kitchen soup flavors.

Various items sold in the restaurants can't be found in similar versions in supermarkets — at least, not yet. The family behind the brand and products is quite enterprising — as evidenced by their pioneering food empire — so maybe these goodies will hit store shelves eventually, too. Exclusive, in-restaurant-only items include shakes and smoothies, cinnamon rolls and bagels, coffees and teas, salads, french fries, and meatless chik'n tenders.

The Berliner family — the clan behind Amy's Kitchen — prides itself on using organic, non-GMO components in its prepackaged foods. A similar attention to clean ingredients is a focus at the drive-thrus. A disclaimer on the restaurant website alerts diners that if a non-organic substitute must be used in a dish on any given day, a sign at the drive-thru will announce this, so food choices can be made accordingly.

If you don't live near an Amy's Drive Thru, the good news is the brand's packaged foods can be found in a whopping 30 countries. The company's over 250 products range from frozen entrees to snacks and canned goods (we recommend trying the Mushroom Bisque with Porcini, available for purchase online, which ranks highly among canned cream of mushroom soup brands).