Despite strong reviews and several accolades — its take on a Reuben earned a spot on the Inquirer’s list of best sandwiches in Philly — Algorithm Vegan Grill has scaled back operations with last week’s closure of its Queen Village brick-and-mortar at 705 E Passyunk Avenue.
Currently, “we’re refocused and re-driven on the food truck,” owner Matt Rafferty, 45, told Billy Penn.
The lease on the storefront, Rafferty explained, was no longer affordable; a reality that became apparent last December. A consistent challenge throughout the restaurant’s year-and-a-half run, he said, had been “breaking through [to] the mainstream market,” in a city that’s “still, traditionally, meat and potatoes.”
Algorithm opened the doors to its first storefront in November 2022, a little over two years after Rafferty launched the business from a converted medical equipment truck in University City. Debuting during COVID had been a calculated risk — “I figured during the pandemic the world was going to change, so why not just give it a shot?” said Rafferty. He had just been let go from a restaurant job and was wary of later reliving regrets similar to how he felt at not pursuing a music career 20 years earlier.
The gamble paid off, Algorithm soon was appearing on lists by various local publications of best vegan spots in the city, even voted 2021’s best food truck overall by Philly Magazine, off the strength of a menu that aimed to recreate the foods Rafferty, as a vegan, missed.
The endeavor is a direct extension of Rafferty’s advocacy for ethical veganism, specifically “the rights of non-human animals.” The name Algorithm, he explained, refers to the solution he said is needed for the problem and cruelties of factory farming on a grand scale.
“We just want to be a small spoke in the global wheel of how to offer better practices and better ways to do things,” he said. “And sometimes we fail, sometimes we succeed.”
Rafferty’s turn to veganism at age 38 coincided with his sobriety, which “refreshed my need to want to go to a plant-based diet, and also open up a vegan restaurant,” he said. Crucially, Algorithm offers a certified recovery-safe workplace; Rafferty working with Manayunk-based Unity Recovery.
With scaling back of the business came the inevitable downsizing of staff; a painful process Rafferty recalled. “When we lost our lease, I knew that it was going to have a negative impact on people’s jobs,” he said, “and that hurt.” Three employees were let go, one drafted over to the truck’s crew of three, including Rafferty.
Outside of bookings for private engagements, Algorithm Vegan Grill will be roving throughout the city, with regular stops in Chestnut Hill, Kensington, Graduate Hospital, Fairmount, and Manayunk to name a few/across the city (a schedule is posted weekly on Instagram.) It’s part of the effort, Rafferty said, “to bring our plant-based menu to as many areas in Philadelphia as we can.”
The menu covers a broad range. There’s a breakfast hoagie, Rafferty’s recreation of the bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwiches he’d look forward to on trips to the city from Phoenixville years ago. Another breakfast option also available all day, the Wake and Shake cheesesteak packs steak-spiced seitan with a house-made Calabrian chili whiz.
The Nashville Hot combines brined seitan, dredged in a seasoned flour and lightly fried, with Algorithm’s grilled scallion and red cabbage slaw and bread and butter pickles in a Merzbachers sweet potato bun—also used for the hefty Libertine burger, which tops a plant-based patty with red onion jam, pickled pico de gallo, and soy bacon. There are also a variety of tacos, fries, and drinks. It’s all crafted using seasonal and local ingredients, mostly provided by local purveyors.
“With the size of the operation that we have, it would far, far exceed our bandwidth to be able to try and make our own meats, cheeses, or breads,” Rafferty said. “So, we just use the experts on a local level.” Seitan is sourced from Blackbird, patties for the Libertine burger from Beyond Meat. Hoagie rolls come from Baker Street Bread Co, veggies courtesy of Giordano Garden Groceries.
The collaborations, he said, have been a highlight throughout his experience with Algorithm. “It’s a beautiful community,” he said. “There’s a lot of insanely talented people out there that we’ve had the luxury of working with.”
Reflecting on the brick-and-mortar’s run, Rafferty admits he would have benefitted from the help of a dedicated PR team to increase his presence in the market.
“We’re in the land of cheesesteaks, right? So, if somebody is seeking out one of the best cheesesteaks in Philadelphia,” Rafferty reasoned, “they’re not going to come to Algorithm. If they’re seeking out one of the best vegan cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, then we might be on their radar.”
Confident another storefront is in Algorithm’s future, for now, Rafferty’s focus is on getting the truck out there as much as possible during spring and event season.
“That we got to even serve people to begin with out of a brick-and-mortar space is a success, because that means that the truck had some traction to it,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of accolades; we’ve had a lot of success. We have a lot of great people. Our team is phenomenal, and we couldn’t ask for anything more out of what we’ve gotten from our guests.”
For hours and locations follow @algorithmvegangrill, or visit algorithm-restaurants.com
