Gluten-free fast food option opens in southwest Las Vegas valley
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — One in 100 people live with celiac disease, a digestive issue triggered by gluten products. Dairy-free, gluten-free, keto and vegan diets have grown in popularity over the years.
Las Vegas now has a new option to answer the call: PowerSoul Cafe, a 24-hour, drive-thru-walk-up-window fast food venue that is certified gluten-free. The first of three locations opened in the southwest valley at Warm Springs Road and Cimarron Road Friday.
“This is about giving people options they didn’t have,” explained Dina Mitchell. She humbly titled herself both the founder and dishwasher.
Mitchell joined staff Friday as they blended smoothies, thawed pre-cooked keto pizzas, and assembled acai bowls for the drivers, walkers, and pre-order locker pick-ups.
This is not Mitchell’s first rodeo. She brought Tropical Smoothie Cafe to the West Coast in 2000, and was able to blend in her 15-year background.
The menu includes vegan, keto and other lifestyle options with fresh ingredients Mitchell’s passion is equality: food for all.
“Celiac disease is a disability, these people have to pay more for food, not because I decide to charge it to take advantage, but because it is not mass produced,” Mitchell said. “These people pay more money for it, yet are treated like second-class citizens and sometimes shamed for their allergies.”
Mitchell said she wanted to address that problem on a large scale — no matter the cost or difficulty.
“Why have we not met an equal standard when it comes to food allergies? And food allergies are real. I am sorry for those who think they aren’t. And celiac disease is real,” Mitchell said.
For the millions living with celiac disease, ingesting gluten triggers small intestine damage, according to the Celiac Disease Foundation.
PowerSoul Cafe follows strict standards. Allen Rekunyk said PowerSoul will err on the side of caution.
“We set a much stricter threshold for gluten,” he said. The gluten measurements must be less than five parts per million. The FDA’s threshold is 20 ppm.
Rekunkyk demonstrated a gluten test on a corn dog fried in peanut oil. It passed.
Mitchell showed off a keto pizza made with chicken breast, eggs and cheese crust. It contained more than 50 grams of protein and 26 grams of fat.
Three-time visitor Margarete Fowler has already tried the pizza and smoothies.
“You feel good leaving, because it is all natural ingredients and it tastes amazing,” she raved.
This is just the beginning for Mitchell.
A Chinatown location opens March 15 and a third in Henderson in May. Mitchell plans to open 100 by the end of 2029.
They’re doing free wheat allergy testing through a partnership with Summit Integrated Health.
All this first week, you can get a freebie by donating a dollar or more to the Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada.
That goes for the first week at the upcoming locations too, Mitchell said.
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