A vegan comfort food hot spot is making its way to Cordova.
Plant Based Heat, founded in 2020 by former radio personality and entrepreneur Ralph “RJ Groove” Johnson, is opening a third location at 8050 Dexter Road, Suite 105. The flagship store is at 669 S. Highland St., and there is also a Plant Based Heat Express location at 363 S. Front St.
“A lot of my customers drive 20 to 30 minutes from Cordova, Southaven or the north Mississippi area to our flagship location here on Highland,” Johnson told What Now Memphis. “They say, ‘When are you going to open one out there? We love your food.’ I hear them, I listen to them. The opportunity became available, and we made the move.”
The menu includes comfort food staples such as hot wings, burgers, sandwiches, cheesesteaks, mac and cheese and nachos. Everything is 100 percent vegan. The most popular items are the vegan wings, or “vings,” and the burgers. Johnson said they are also working on a new wing recipe.
“The community loves the fact that they can eat a fried oyster mushroom. They have the option to get gluten free, fried in grape seed oil. Just a clean eat, but at the same time it’s filling and it tastes like chicken,” Johnson said. “That’s the whole purpose of us being a vegan comfort food restaurant. We have mac and cheese, we have barbecue jack, we have vegan fried catfish, all of these things are items we’ve grown to love but it’s just not meat.”
Johnson said most of their customers aren’t vegan. They just appreciate the chance to eat healthier. As part of that commitment, he’s curating the menu to ensure meals are made in-house.
In addition to the Cordova opening, Johnson plans to franchise the brand, with discussions already in progress. He is also working on getting select Plant Based Heat products into grocery stores.
The Cordova location is expected to open by the end of June.
