Plant-based Mr. Charlie's lands Travis Barker as investor
What's the deal? Mr. Charlie's TMS, a five-unit plant-based burger chain often called "the vegan McDonald's," has added Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker as an equity partner and brand ambassador. Barker, husband of Kourtney Kardashian, joins boxing legend Mike Tyson as a celebrity backer of the brand.
Founded in Los Angeles in 2022 by Taylor McKinnon and Aaron Haxton, Mr. Charlie's leans into red-and-yellow branding and taste profiles that echo McDonald's — though it has no connection to the burger giant. It serves items like "Frowny Meals" with plant-based burger and nugget combos.
Tyson invested through his company Carma HoldCoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Barker, a long-time plant-based advocate, said in a statement: "Mr. Charlie's isn't just another food concept — it's a movement."
Why now? Mr. Charlie's recently opened its fifth location, in San Diego, with another flagship coming to the city's Hillcrest neighbourhood in May. Expansion into Austin, Texas, is also planned, and the company said 25 more units are in development.
The brand also has a social mission: it supports the Dream Center, a nonprofit that helps people in life transitions — such as addiction recovery or post-incarceration — find work. McKinnon has said the organisation helped him through a dark period, and he vowed to give back. That community focus reportedly drew Barker to the deal.
What could go wrong? The plant-based restaurant graveyard is crowded. Kevin Hart's Hart House, Veggie Grill's Stand Up Burger, and Amy's Drive Thru have all shut down. Neat Burger, backed by Leonardo DiCaprio, closed every US and UK location in 2025. Atlanta-based Slutty Vegan's owner lost control of the brand before buying it back.
Celebrity backing alone hasn't been enough to sustain these concepts. Mr. Charlie's will need more than famous names to succeed where so many peers have failed.
The signal: The plant-based restaurant sector has seen a wave of high-profile failures, yet Mr. Charlie's ability to pull in celebrity equity partners through Carma HoldCo — a corporate investor also behind Mike Tyson's consumer ventures — hints that smart money still sees a viable path for mission-driven concepts with strong cultural branding. The differentiator may be that Mr. Charlie's treats plant-based as an identity play rather than a health pitch, pairing nostalgic fast-food aesthetics with community purpose in a way its defunct competitors never quite managed.
Read more: restaurantbusinessonline.com
