Country's First USDA-Certified Organic Fast Food Restaurant Opens Right Here In the Bay Area

There’s no denying that fast casual concepts and organic ingredients are the way of the future, and now there’s a new restaurant in Pleasanton capitalizing on both. The Organic Coup, open as of today, purports to be the country’s first USDA-certified organic fast food restaurant, meaning 95 percent or more of its ingredients come from certified organic growers and farmers as required by the USDA to receive the certification. The Organic Coup’s main menu item is a fried chicken sandwich, developed by a Florida chef using, obviously, all-organic ingredients from California. You can get it in sandwich, wrap or salad form, accompanied by popcorn.

Founded by Erica Welton, a former Costco food buyer, The Organic Coup (a play on the word "coop," and meant as a coup on the "conventional food system") has an aggressive growth plan. "We’re opening 25 locations in the next 14 months," Welton told Eater. "The next location is San Francisco. We just hired a real estate agent." Welton founded The Organic Coup after being frustrated by the lack of "clean," "quick options at lunch or on busy weekends." "People go to restaurants all the time and eat organic greens, and you see them put normal dressing on it, and it’s like, you just took those organic veggies and smothered them in chemicals and MSG and god knows what else," Welton said. "This gives people that level of commitment that I hope will inspire lots of other fast food restaurants to join in the fun."