'I love meat' scrawled on new vegan restaurant's drive-thru
'It hurts to have someone attack you like that,' owner says
A vandalism attack on a London meat-free restaurant has left staff with a bad taste in their mouths.
Only two days after its soft-launch, blue text that read "I [heart symbol] meat" was plastered beneath the drive-thru sign at Globally Local's second location in London.
"It sucks," said James McInnes, founder of the London's vegan food hub. "It hurts to have someone attack you like that so directly."
Pegged as Canada's first vegan fast food-restaurant, Globally Local opened its second location in London on Wednesday. The new location at Highbury Avenue and Cheapside Street seating 120 people will include a 24-hour drive-thru.
McInnes says the graffiti comes from a place of misunderstanding.
"We're not trying to attack people's choices," he said. "We're just saying 'come try our food and experience the benefits of a plant-based diet,'" he said. "Our mission is to change the fast-food industry that's so harmful to the planet the environment and to people's health."
The restaurant offers meat-free, diary-free and animal byproduct-free alternatives to famous fast-food menus. It also offers similar prices to traditional fast food chains.
This isn't the first attack
Friday's vandalism incident is the restaurant's fourth attack this month. Throughout its construction phase, McInnes says staff have cleaned up homophobic slurs, among other derogatory graffiti stamps.
Staff shared the photo online Friday and it already has 300 shares. McInnes says police have been notified.
Globally Local officially launched as a food truck in London. Since then, it opened its first location in the downtown core last December.
The new location is in a soft-launch phase and will celebrate its official opening on July 15.
Until then, McInnes says the team will continue to work through any targeted remarks.
"This is something that's only going to make us stronger."