You won’t find a single beef burger, chicken nugget or dairy product at the newest “fast food” restaurant on West Hartford’s New Park Avenue — but you won’t be missing any indulgence, either.
Ami Beach and Mark Shadle recently opened G-Monkey, a “plant fueled” fast-casual concept at 625 New Park Avenue in late June, with a menu of vegan burgers and sandwiches, salads, soups, bowls and decadent desserts.
The new concept is a spinoff of their popular G-Monkey food truck, featuring some of the mobile eatery’s most popular items, and their former G-Zen restaurant in Branford, which closed in April. Though the couple said they struggled with the decision to close their Branford restaurant, which opened in 2011, they felt quick service would be the best format for the future of their brand.
“We feel like this is the wave of the future,” Beach said. “There will always be sit-down [dining], but we knew that to hit the masses, we needed to be higher visibility, next to a Chick-fil-A or McDonald’s. We need to be right up front and center with other quick-service locations.”
Shadle said in March that G-Monkey truck customers have been asking them to bring the concept to greater Hartford for years. They have a fan base in the region thanks to frequent stops at the Forge City Works and Coventry Farmers Markets, and they also made appearances at GastroPark, the West Hartford food truck park just down the street from their new brick-and-mortar.
The menu at G-Monkey pulls inspiration from the truck and the former Branford restaurant, with a few new additions. The truck’s signature housemade black bean “Zen Burger” is available with toppings like caramelized onions, “nay-yo” vegan mayonnaise and housemade vegan cheddar. A “Brava Burger” is inspired by the couple’s second home in Culebra, Puerto Rico, with grilled pineapple, sriracha and smoked coconut maple “bacon.”
Grilled cheese sandwiches, served on housemade whole grain bread, are crafted with housemade vegan mozzarella, almond basil pesto and caramelized onions. A spicy “Kim K” version adds kimchi. Other truck favorites include the “downward dog” black bean burrito and a “Groovin Reuben” with marinated tempeh, sauerkraut, spicy mustard and Russian dressing. “Raw tacos,” with walnut-based “meat,” vegetables and cashew sour creme, are served on romaine lettuce leaves.
Shadle has long been known for his signature sweet potato fries, served on the truck and at the Branford restaurant with a housemade smoky hickory ketchup. At G-Monkey, they’re available loaded with toppings like black bean chili, vegan cheddar, cashew parmesan “dust,” roasted vegetable gravy and green onions. A sweet version features cinnamon-sugar dust and creamy coconut maple caramel sauce.
Other specialties include the “feisty monkey” pasta bowl with housemade spicy peanut cilantro sauce, and a poke bowl with kimchi, beets, carrots and a chickpea-based faux “tuna.” Soups, salads, kids’ menu items and Beach’s herb tonics and elixirs round out the menu.
Desserts include vegan and raw options, like New York style cheesecake made with silken tofu and served with berry coulis, and cacao mousse, crafted with avocado, heirloom cacao and maple syrup. Beach also makes raw truffles with cacao and dragonfruit, and the couple is hoping to add oat milk-based soft serve ice cream to the menu.
All items are served in compostable packaging made from vegetable fibers or plant starches, including takeout boxes, drink cups, utensils, napkins and even the cups for G-Monkey’s house ketchup.
The fast-casual concept is something Beach and Shadle have been talking about for about five years, Shadle said. They looked at new locations in Branford and other towns, but came up empty. Beach had originally written off West Hartford as an option, initially picturing a site in the town’s center where they wouldn’t have their own parking lot.
But when the New Park Avenue space became available after Citizen Chicken & Donuts closed, they rethought their plans. It was ideal for what they wanted — ample parking for both their guests and their food truck, on a busy road with other restaurants and close to nearby apartments and CTfastrak’s Elmwood stop.
They spent several months renovating the space, incorporating a living moss wall and plenty of green plants throughout the indoor seating area. A wall of rolling pins, including several hand-me-downs from family members, commemorates Shadle’s culinary career, which stretches more than three decades.
Before opening the G-Monkey truck with Beach, Shadle was formerly the executive chef and co-owner of It’s Only Natural (ION) in Middletown for 22 years. He’s also won medals in the Culinary Olympics, and was invited to cook at the White House by first lady Michelle Obama in 2010.
Beach and Shadle are planning to open more G-Monkey locations, and they’re hoping to return to the shoreline at some point. They’re open to franchising or licensing the concept.
“We’re open to all possibilities,” she said. “We’ve been getting offers already [to open in other towns] but we really want to get this [location] humming.”
Shadle said he’s definitely seen an increasing number of people become vegan, or opt for occasional vegan meals, over his long career.
“When I was first doing this 30 years ago, there were a handful of vegan restaurants [around the country], in New York, San Francisco, Chicago,” he said. “Now small towns have vegan options…you’re really seeing a big change.”
“We get all kinds of people who come in. It’s always been that way,” he said. “Now it’s people who eat vegan once a week, or once a month…We try to be really welcoming.”
G-Monkey is open noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday (closed Sunday and Monday.)