A gold mine of innovation, freshness and french fries has recently moved onto ASU’s Tempe campus in the Vista del Sol area.
French Fry Heaven, the first restaurant of its kind in Arizona, opened its doors on July 31 in preparation to serve students, owner Asmeet Kapoor said.
“We wanted to open while it was slow to make sure that operationally we were prepared so that when the rush came we were ready to serve students as best as possible,” Kapoor said. “We did a soft opening before school opened, and we’ll do a grand opening after students get settled.”
Although the Tempe restaurant is new, the first store was started in 2011 by ASU alumnus Scott Nelowet in Florida.
“Scott went to Europe and realized they were selling fries on every corner and thought, 'Why aren’t we doing anything like this in the U.S.?'” Kapoor said. “With this particular model, the primary difference between the East Coast and here (is that) we’ve gone fresh with everything.”
The restaurant is committed to providing fresh food at an affordable price, a combination Kapoor believes is perfect for a restaurant located on a college campus.
Checking out @FFHASU today!
@statepress pic.twitter.com/oe3bfBrUVO
— Katie Kierum (@KatieKierum) August 26, 2015
“Our french fries are fresh — they’re Idaho potatoes and we hand cut them in the back,” Kapoor said. “All of the food we have we make in the back and we (prepare) recipes every day, so everything is from scratch because we believe the quality is better. We keep our cost margins purposefully low because we want to offer things that are at students’ price points.”
Along with the promise of fresh ingredients, French Fry Heaven features a menu full of options and customization.
“What we have on the menu now are called Loaded Spuds and they’re basically pseudo meals,” Kapoor said. “We try to get a variance of foods so that we have options for the students. We offer loaded spuds like the Buffalo Chicken that you can get on fries, or a baked potato or potato chips, as well as chicken tenders, dessert fries and individualized fries with 14 different proprietary salts and seasonings.”
French Fry Heaven has already caught the eye of students. Accounting freshman Abdullah Alarifi has tried the fries and is already back for more.
“I came by and saw the place and decided to try it. I actually loved it,” Alarifi said. “My favorite is the Chicken Garlic Parmesan, I really like it.”
For business-law freshman Faith Crain, her trip to French Fry Heaven led to a job.
“I was walking by and it smelled really good,” Crain said. “I ate here a couple of times and then asked for an application. I’ve worked here for about a week.”
The store’s best seller, according to Kapoor, is the Buffalo Chicken, which is 10 ounces of fries topped with chicken dipped in buffalo sauce and a layer of ranch on top.
Buffalo Chicken Loaded Spuds at @FFHASU are incredible! @statepress pic.twitter.com/YKdQPjR63l
— Katie Kierum (@KatieKierum) August 26, 2015
“We’re always looking for new recipes and we’re experimenting with some right now, especially with local flavors," Kapoor said. "We really want to get into the local, Southwest flair."
French Fry Heaven will have its grand opening Sept. 10 at 6 p.m.
“For the grand opening, we will have free sample tastings that day for all the students that come in,” Kapoor said. “We’d love for everyone to come in and try the food!”
Until then, students can experiment with unique menu offerings like the fusion of breakfast food and fries found in the Sunset Loaded Spud, the marriage of fried hot dogs, cheese and mustard, and many more.
Related Links:
Short Leash Food Truck's Permanent Location Doesn't Dissapoint
10 international restaurants for the college budget
Reach the reporter at ckierum@asu.edu or follow @KatieKierum on Twitter.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
