More cheese please: 'I Heart Mac and Cheese' restaurants coming to Vermont.
Vermonters love their cheese (Cabot cheddar anyone?), which makes the next "first franchise in Vermont" fitting for the dairy-centric state.
South Florida-based chain I Heart Mac and Cheese will open its first locations in Vermont in Williston and St. Albans in 2023. Both will be owned by Robert Leonard. The fast-casual restaurant serves customizable macaroni and cheese bowls and grilled cheese sandwiches.
"Vermont loves their comfort foods, and I Heart Mac and Cheese will be the perfect fit," Leonard said in a press release Thursday. “We are thrilled to be opening the first I Heart Mac and Cheese in the state. We are excited to be part of the rapidly growing concept.”
While exact dates have yet to be set, the St. Albans store is expected to open next spring, while the Williston location is slated for a summer opening, I Heart Mac & Cheese Spokeswoman Cecilia Burgos said. The Willison store will be near Maple Tree Place, she said.
Customers can choose between already-imagined combinations or a make-your-own bowl model with options for the base including pasta, broccoli, cauliflower, quinoa or tater tots, and choices for proteins, cheeses and vegetables. The same concept goes for grilled cheese sandwiches, with options of sourdough, wheat or gluten-free bread as the base and the customer's choice of toppings.
Two menu items that really nail down the "I Heart Mac and Cheese" spirit include the Tacorini, nacho-flavored taco shells filled with mac and cheese, and The Best of Both Worlds, a grilled cheese sandwich filled with mac and cheese, short rib and barbeque sauce.
While the restaurant invites its guests to indulge in creamy, dairy goodness, the restaurant is vegan-friendly with grilled cheese and mac and cheese options that are animal-product free.
Contact Urban Change Reporter Lilly St. Angelo at lstangelo@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @lilly_st_ang
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont restaurants: I Heart Mac and Cheese coming to Williston, St. Albans
