Hamilton’s Hearty Hooligan brings punk vibes to plant-based comfort food
- Michael Kras
- 21 Dec 2023
For the uninitiated, the word ‘vegan’ might conjure certain images: piles of lettuce, power bowls, Pilates, maybe even an air of pretentiousness.
Those images couldn’t be further from the truth for Hamilton entrepreneur Staicha Kidd, whose restaurant The Hearty Hooligan is about as countercultural as veganism gets.
The phrase “Keeping Vegan Trashy” adorns the front door of the 292 Ottawa Street North restaurant, priming visitors for what to expect when it comes to Hearty Hooligan’s quirky punk vibes and menu of what Kidd affectionately labels ‘vegan junk food.’
Kidd, a law school dropout who ditched academia for something closer to her heart, became vegan in 2010 and found herself frustrated by the public perception of the plant-based lifestyle. The idea for The Hearty Hooligan – which opened in February 2017 – came out of a desire to dismantle those stereotypes and stigmas, proving veganism doesn’t only have to centre clean eating or diet culture.
“Even in the years that I worked in a factory while being in school, when people I was stuck on the line with for hours at a time were mildly curious about my veganism would ask, I took a great amount of joy in telling them about all the fast food you could still eat and all the accidentally vegan junk food you could find at grocery stores,” she says. “I was big into making veganism accessible and not intimidating.”
True to her words, The Hearty Hooligan upends everything you’d expect about a plant-based eatery. The menu is certainly indulgent: think gooey pizza pockets (which recently became available for retail at over a dozen Ontario stores), hefty burritos, nacho platters, loaded fries, and desserts made from scratch using local ingredients.
The variety on offer proves you don’t need meat, dairy, or other animal products to make comfort eats, which helps explain why over half of The Hearty Hooligan’s customer base consists of non-vegans. They don’t eat the food because it’s plant-based; they eat it because it’s delicious.
But the draws at The Hearty Hooligan go far beyond food & drink. The 100% women-owned spot is also a community hub known for its outreach, 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusivity, and events like trivia and drag nights. The staff mainly consists of queer and neurodivergent folks, and Kidd prioritizes healthy work conditions including 4 days on, 3 days off work schedules; and benefits for employees working more than 30 hours weekly.
About to celebrate its 7th anniversary, The Hearty Hooligan shows no signs of slowing; and if its strong reputation is any indication, Kidd’s ‘little-vegan-spot-that-could’ will remain a Hamilton favourite for many years to come.
“Not too shabby for a place run by some law school dropout punk girl that so many people said wouldn’t last!”
See more about The Hearty Hooligan on their website, and follow them on social media here.
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