Plant-based food phenom Kokomo is coming to Port Moody this fall, the company has announced.
In a release this week, founder Katie Ruddell said she will be opening a fourth Kokomo in Greater Vancouver in October — this one in Port Moody's popular Suter Brook Village.
Describing Kokomo's as not so much vegan as "inclusive," Ruddell says the new restaurant will offer a tasty selection of bowls, wraps, salads and smoothies that are also gluten-free, vegan and largely nut-free.
Kokomo got its start in Vancouver's Chinatown five years ago and since then has expanded to include a second location in the city, as well as a restaurant in Edgemont Village in North Vancouver.
Ruddell, and business partner Collin Denton, will open the new location at #3-121 Brew St. in Suter Brook Village.
Construction is currently under way on the new restaurant, which Ruddell said would be designed by Simon Montgomery to showcase the natural elements of the Tri-Cities, threaded through with "Kokomo’s already sunny aesthetic to create this light and airy space."
Through the tall glass doors, guests will be greeted by an open-concept eatery that "evokes the feeling of summer — no matter what season it is outside," the release stated.
The modular seating plan will also invite guests to eat together, "aligning with Kokomo’s core value of community," states Ruddell.
"Flavour-packed" vegan food
Kokomo has already been successful in its original three locations, with a wide variety of plant-based acai bowls, rice bowls, salads, smoothies, wraps and a full coffee line up.
As to what Tri-City residents can expect when Kokomo opens in Port Moody, a hint is available from a column by former North Shore News food writer Chris Dagenais, who described the original Chinatown restaurant as offering "flavour-packed vegan cuisine,"and praised the North Shore eatery for its Beet Poke Macro Bowl.
Dagenais described the bowl as an "explosion of flavours and ingenious intermingling of textures that had me nodding my head in I-have-to-hand-it-to-them appreciation just a few bites in."
According to Ruddell, Kokomo's most popular items are the Kokomo Acai bowl, blended acai served with fruit, house-made raw granola, coconut and mint; the Coastal Macro Bowl made with brown rice, greens, marinated tempeh, roasted squash, cucumber, pickled cabbage, topped with edamame hummus and a savory Thai ginger dressing
Among the healthy, flavourful smoothies is the Power Malt, which is an energizing blend of banana, almond butter, cacao, hemp seeds, majooli dates, cinnamon and almond milk.
