A new food vendor has opened in York.
Junk Soul Smothered opened at Spark York, Piccadilly, on Tuesday (20 May) and is already going down a treat.
Specialising in vegan comfort food, the stall is serving up “plant-based comfort food” like burgers, cheesesteaks, hot dogs, loaded fries, and churros.
YorkMix chatted with owner and chef Andy Beech to find out more.
This is the second location for Junk Soul, as they have a bar and restaurant in Beverley, with Andy starting the brand five years ago in 2020.
After going vegan in 2019 and discovering that there was a lack of “good quality vegan junk food”, Andy started thinking that there was a gap in the market.
He started making food for his friends and cooking from his kitchen, until he eventually saved up enough to buy a gazebo and started doing markets and local events. “And we blossomed from there.”
On hearing about the Spark opening, one of the customers from the Beverley restaurant commented: “Best burgers in burger world, York you are lucky!”
Junk Soul Smothered follows on the back of previous great vegan vendors at Spark like Herbivorous, El Rayo Vegan Cantina, and Dog’s Nose Taqueria.
“It’s been the biggest turnaround ever – we only got in touch with Spark a month ago.”
After opening this week, the reaction so far has been “really positive.”
“We’ve had a really nice response from our customers over in Beverley and the vegan community here have really got behind us.
“It’s been a really lovely response.”
One of the menu highlights is an exclusive for the stall at Spark – The Philly Cheese Steak (£15), with shredded ‘steak’, melted vegan cheese, mustard mayo, pomegranate, and rocket. “It’s my personal favourite – if you’re going to go for anything, try that one!”
To stay up to date with Junk Soul Smothered at Spark, visit their Instagram page here.