Walking Portland by Becky Ohlsen

Author:Becky Ohlsen
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780899978932
Publisher: Wilderness Press
Published: 2019-07-14T16:00:00+00:00

Backstory: The Gardenburger

Given Portland’s image in the popular imagination, it’s probably not a huge surprise that the Gardenburger was invented here. (Strictly speaking, it happened in Gresham, but let’s not quibble.) The meatless patty is the brainchild of Paul Wenner, who (after becoming concerned about what his lousy diet was doing to his mood, energy levels, and physical well-being) opened a vegetarian restaurant in 1981 called The Gardenhouse. Looking for something to do with all the leftovers one night, he made a probably not enormous intuitive leap and came up with the “Gardenloaf Sandwich.” A little more fine-tuning (slice and fry, basically) converted the loafwich into an early version of the Gardenburger.

Customers at the Gardenhouse seemed to love it, but alas, the restaurant itself was not long for this world. Wenner closed up shop in the midst of a recession in 1984, but he was by no means out of the Gardenburger game. With financial backing from Harry Merlo, then CEO of Louisiana-Pacific, Wenner started Wholesome & Hearty Foods Inc. and continued to produce his trademark veggie burger.

The company changed its name to Gardenburger Inc. in 1985; it grew quickly and went public in 1992. Throughout the 1990s, competition from Boca Burgers, MorningStar Farms, and other companies following in Gardenburger’s footsteps started picking up. Feeling the pressure, Gardenburger spent about $1.5 million on an advertising spot on the final episode of Seinfeld. Even so, the company continued losing money over the next few years: its stock prices dropped from $18 to 50 cents a share, and finally, in 2005, Gardenburger declared bankruptcy. Kellogg purchased the brand in 2007 and still owns it.

As for Wenner, he went on to write a couple of healthy-eating cookbooks and invented the Gardenbar, an early example of the now-ubiquitous savory vegan protein bar.

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