When one thinks of a good juicy burger, the thing that first comes to mind is a good old classic cheeseburger with a meaty and well-seasoned beef patty. For someone who’s environmentally conscious and an animal lover but also has an equal zest to taste delicious food, it proves to be a dilemma when it comes to leaving behind the traditional cheeseburgers and switching to a more compassionate option.
What if we tell you, there is a way to have amazing burgers without harming a single animal?
You heard that right! Swing Kitchen does just that for you. The restaurant is known for curating delicious vegan burgers with a passion for food for its customers. Established in 2015 by Charly and Irene Schillinger, Swing Kitchen has since been redefining burgers with its 100% vegan concept.
In the following interview, Charly and Irene describe the journey of their life, their mutual love for food and animals, and ultimately the origin of Swing Kitchen. They also talk about the additional benefits of becoming a Swing Kitchen franchisee other than being an environmentally conscious businessperson.
Following are the highlights of the interview:
Please brief our readers about Swing Kitchen’s franchise, its niche market, and your vision for the franchise.
We offer our franchise system gastronomy as single-unit and multi-unit. Depending on whether you want to open one or several restaurants in one city. Multi-unit franchisees are also granted exclusive territorial and development protection. Efficient processes and a smooth company set-up are important to us. That’s why we support our franchisees right from the start.
We use our expertise to advise them on the choice of location, help them set up their business, and implement system-proven work processes. In order to communicate our unique concept, our sustainable mission, and our values in the best possible way, we support our franchisees in terms of marketing, not only with brand usage rights but also with a comprehensive brand guide and personal advice and support.
Franchisees can decide to what extent they would like to manage certain agendas themselves, or we as franchisors can take over these tasks.
The Changemakers’ Journey
The story of Charly & Irene Schillinger – How it all began
Already in 1793, the ancestors of Karl ‘Charly’ Schillinger opened a restaurant in Großmugl near Vienna. In 1966 Karl ‘Charly’ Schillinger was born. At that time, no one could have guessed that he would one day create such delicacies.
Charly Schillinger discovered his love for animals at an early age. Charly was kicked out of the cooking school after he had freed a deer from the school’s reserve. But then his passion for numbers led him into the world of finance.
The young Charly preferred the big financial world over his home restaurant and became a securities analyst. The fact that he also took animal ethics into account when trading stocks was one of the secrets of his success.
At a spectacular anti-fur campaign at Vienna Fashion Week, Charly met animal rights and environmental activist Irene. It was love at first sight – Irene became his ultimate life and creative partner. After the death of Charly’s father, the son was to take over his parents’ restaurant without further ado. Up to then, there was Schnitzel made of pork – but not with Irene & Charly.
The restaurant became a luxury graveyard for animals intended for slaughter and an internationally renowned ‘vegan gourmet temple’. Inspired by the success of the vegan restaurant, the two now wanted to change the system from the inside.
The first Swing Kitchen opened in Vienna in 2015. The vision was clear: a new generation of fast food, the good chain as a pioneer of the protein turnaround. In 2020, Swing Kitchen is operating nine restaurants in three countries, and that is just the beginning.
