Seitan’s Realm followers now have a place to gather. The vegan food truck with the ultimate tongue-in-cheek name is making things permanent with a brick-and-mortar in Clintonville.
For the uninitiated, seitan is a versatile vegan protein primarily made of wheat gluten. Owner Kevin Ridenbaugh was aiming for a stand-out name when he and his wife launched the food truck in May of 2019.
Seitan’s Realm made its first stops in Clintonville, debuting in front of another vegan business, Virtue Salon. Ridenbaugh recalls the first day they were open – line down the street, out of food an hour and a half before they intended to wrap things up for the day. And the customers just kept coming.
Now finding a permanent home in the neighborhood, Ridenbaugh calls it an absolute dream come true. Seitan’s Realm is taking over the former home of A Common Table, 3496 N. High St., making it a relatively turnkey operation.
Although a difficult time for the industry, there are a few reasons Ridenbaugh gravitated towards a permanent location.
First, he says being a food truck during the winter is hard, and likely even harder in the days of COVID. But more than that, “Just having our own kitchen is what we really wanted to do,” Ridenbaugh says.
All of Seitan’s Realm’s “meats” and sauces are house-made. A difficult task in the confines of a food truck.
The menu at the new spot will feature the guilty-vegan-pleasure sandwiches the truck is known for. Ridenbaugh says their most popular is the Beaf N Chedduh – thinly sliced roast beaf topped with cheeze sauce and Seitan’s sauce served on a toasted onion roll. It purposefully sounds like a certain Arby’s sandwich, only vegan, and to complete the comparison, there are curly fries as well. Rounding out the menu are vegan takes on gyros, cheesesteaks, Reubens and more.
Instead of having to rotate dishes in and out, the new kitchen space will mean all of Seitan’s Realm’s menu items all the time – plus some new additions. The menu will expand into breakfast, soups, salads, desserts and new sandwiches, some more panini-style.
Answering the call of customers that would literally drive from other parts of the state for their eats, Seitan’s Realm will include a deli component in its new brick-and-mortar. The deli case will be stocked with their house-made proteins for customers to create their own dishes at home.
Ridenbaugh is aiming for a November 1 opening of Seitan’s Realm in Clintonville. The food truck version will keep rolling as well, hitting up the bars and breweries like Antiques on High, Land-Grant and Oddfellow’s that have become mainstays in its rotation. The truck will also be used for catering events like weddings.
For more information, visit seitansrealm.com.