Réger Burger food truck

In their own words, the Réger Burger food truck “puts a stop to the hungry stomachs of the republic.” One look at their heavenly menu, and it’s easy to see why!

An extension of Neue Republik Reger restaurant in Berlin, Réger Burger also aims to support local business where possible. Their (mostly organic) ingredients are either sourced from German businesses or made in-house.

We spoke with Réger Burger founder Pit Reger about how his university thesis inspired the idea of running a food truck, and the challenges that come with labeling a business as “vegan”.

What inspired you to launch Réger Burger?

Initially Réger Burger started as my Bachelor thesis in communication design while I was studying at Design Akademie Berlin. I wanted to do a research and communication project about vegan street food. In those days I wasn't sure where I wanted to live after my studies, so I opted for a vegan food truck business, so I could change my location at any given time.

How long have you been vegan and what inspired you to make the transition?

I started being a vegetarian when I was around 16 years old. Around that time I was doing loads of sports, like triathlons and running, and was at highschool all day long.

I became more and more interested in going vegan because being vegetarian seemed only “half logical”. I was thinking, “why refuse to eat meat, but consume cheese and accept animals being caged?”

Unfortunately, there were barely any vegan food options on my campus, so living cruelty-free was kind of impossible. When I moved to Berlin at age 19 and started living for myself, I finally made the transition.

Where do you get your menu inspiration from?

Most of the recipes are a mix of stuff I used to eat at home or I discovered while traveling, but our crew is improving the recipes all the time. Sometimes people and customers give feedback about what we should add to our menu, and we take their suggestions onboard.

What's been your biggest challenge running a fully vegan business?

I always wanted to tear down the prejudices and negative stigma surrounding veganism. However, I realised early on that labeling your business “fully vegan” led to non-vegans not even trying your food. With that in mind, I turned my focus away from labeling my business as vegan, and instead focussed on developing the best tastes and advertising.

What are your thoughts on the current vegan landscape in Berlin & Germany in general?

At the moment Germany, and especially Berlin, is building a serious vegan food offering. However, in Berlin, when you compare the number of vegan spots to the number of total restaurants or caterers in the city, it turns out that only about 1% are fully plant-based. Considering around 10-15% of the population in Berlin are vegan or interested in being vegan, there is still a lot of work to do.

What are your future plans for Réger Burger?

Obviously now is not the time to have big expectations. We are living from each day to the next and seeing how the pandemic situation evolves. We will do our best to get through the hard times during COVID and remain hopeful that festivals and events will return next summer. Luckily, we started our bar and restaurant Neue Republik Reger two years ago, which makes it a little easier to get through this period of time without events happening.

If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

You probably expect me to say a burger, however I only eat burgers every second day - any more than that would be unhealthy!

Stay up to date with Reger Burger (and salivate over their amazing burgers) browsing their menu on VEGCRAVER!