The story of Neat Burger is truly inspiring in many ways. Back in 2019, five friends wanted to enjoy a burger without the guilt of harming the planet and set about creating the most sustainably delicious plant-based alternatives on the market. They wanted to give everyone, everywhere, the option to live a more flexitarian lifestyle – without missing meat. A collection of playful, friendly, ‘fast and fresh’ restaurants were opened, and their dreams became a reality.

Neat Burger has already seen incredible growth and here at Chiller Box we are proud to be playing an important part in this journey. Over the last year, we have worked for them on the design and build of a number of their London sites including Victoria, Finsbury Park, Westfield Stratford, Canary Wharf and Bishopsgate. We are working with them on a number of new projects for implementation this year which are currently at different stages. Everyone at Chiller Box has built a strong relationship with the Neat Burger team and we love seeing each site develop.

Each site has been carefully chosen and then designed for the particular location. Some are in areas with a particularly high footfall such as Westfield and Canary Wharf whilst others are in quieter areas. All the equipment has been carefully selected based on the anticipated demand for each area.

As we’ve got to know the client and how they operate, we’ve been able to advise the Neat Burger operations team on the right equipment to meet their needs as they grow at a fast pace. We’ll consider the longevity of the equipment and how it will improve efficiency. Our management have regular discussions with their operations team, and we take what we learn from one design to improve efficiency even further on the next site.

In the early stages of the design process, we’ll think about how the layout of each kitchen can help the staff to do their jobs most effectively; carefully bearing in mind that the size, shape and demand of each venue is different. Our designers consider the arrangement of the equipment, both to reduce movement and ensure the process is as quick as possible. You don’t want staff crossing over each other and everything needs to be quickly to hand so chefs move through the cooking process seamlessly.

Each new restaurant brings its own challenges, and these vary from site to site. For example, in the shopping centres, the challenges may be around access issues especially when you have lots of large equipment to bring in. We’ve also come up against some of the equipment supply issues that the wider industry has faced over the last two years. However, over time we have become more used to this. We now specify projects according to what’s available and we are constantly learning from each job and taking that experience on to the next one.

One of the key reasons our partnership with Neat Burger has been so successful is our project management. They like the attention to detail and the fact that both directors are so actively involved. For example, Marios tends to do a lot of the management from the office which means he can quickly and easily deal with any issues whilst Michael is on-site more to oversee the work. Our designer, Karen has also been consistently involved in each site and has got to know the needs and wants of our clients really well.

You can view our work on the Neat Burger projects over on our social media accounts with all project videos available on our dedicated YouTube channel.