After establishing the Café HOT. as a Burlington breakfast and brunch hot spot, Allan and Travis Walker-Hodkin decided they were ready to feed the night-owl crowd, too. Following a successful trial run on April 19 and 20, the brothers will offer a slider-size sandwich featuring their distinctive breaded, “chicken-fried” hunk of scrambled egg on a Hawaiian-style roll Thursday through Saturday nights from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.

“We’ve always wanted to see Main Street at night, to be part of the hustle and bustle,” Travis said.

The sandwiches are available only to go from the restaurant’s original takeout window, with which the Walker-Hodkins launched at 198 Main Street in fall 2020. They opened for indoor service in early 2022.

In contrast to the Café HOT.’s daytime menu, the late-night offerings are streamlined to just one snack-size sandwich, with sides of sauces — such as hot honey and house hot sauce — and a few basic beverages. While a single sandwich costs $3, orders of three ($8), six ($14), 10 ($20) or 20 ($37) bring increasing discounts, “kind of White Castle-style,” Travis explained, referring to the regional hamburger chain. “It’s quick. It’s easy. It’s got an easy price.”

He noted that customers placed very few orders for single sandwiches during the initial weekend.

The chicken-fried egg creation catapulted the Café Hot. onto Bon Appétit‘s list of best restaurant meals of 2023. In the magazine’s write-up, the reviewer described the chicken-fried egg sandwich as both surprisingly meat-free and “glorious,” with “a craggy, crisp-crusted slab of fluffy scrambled eggs.”

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – State officials say single-use items like paper and packaging make up almost a third of Vermont’s trash, which is why a 2020 law was implemented to reduce the impact on our landfill and the environment.

The goal of the law is to lessen the harmful effects of plastics and the amount of trash in landfills. That’s why grocery stores made the switch to paper bags, and people are encouraged to use reusable bags. For some Vermonters, bringing reusable bags on an errand is second nature.

“I always bring my own shopping bags. If I don’t have them, I’m not going shopping,” said Scarlett Duncan of Burlington.

While picking up groceries at Burlington’s City Market, Scarlett Duncan says she’s made it a priority to go green and has noticed others have gotten on the reusable train too.

“I think I see way more people with bags now than let’s say five years ago, way more,” she said.

A 2023 University of Vermont study found that consumers used 91% fewer plastic bags on average after the law was implemented.

Even before the law was implemented, Cheray MacFarland of City Market says the Co-op offered thicker plastic bags that customers were encouraged to reuse, with around 600,000 distributed a year. But when the law came, the plastic left.

“It hasn’t necessarily bucked the trends. People are still using as many paper bags. But for as long as City Market has sort of been around, we’ve been pushing reusable bags,” said MacFarland.

MacFarland says while some customers had questions about where the reusable plastic bags went, they don’t get complaints about the paper bags.

She says the paper bags are more expensive, at around double what the plastic bags cost., and notes that the 10-cent fee doesn’t really cover it.

The Co-op also has a café and takeout options, all of which use take-out containers made with recyclable or compostable material.

“If it’s plastic that isn’t recycled, it’s just as dangerous as the single use. So we make sure that everything that’s sourced is fully recycled. That’s definitely been top of mind,” said MacFarland.

The ban doesn’t only apply to plastic bags – it includes styrofoam containers, plastic stir sticks, and makes plastic straws available by request.

Alyssa Eiklor of Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources says retailers have gotten on board. She says they haven’t had to issue any fines, and have only received a handful of complaints.

“In those instances, we either reach out to the business over the phone or we visit them and we just make sure that they understand the law – that they know it exists. Sometimes there’s confusion, especially early on, a lot of places thought that compostable plastic bags were exempt, which they’re not,” said Eiklor.

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