White Castle, famous for its steamed hamburgers, will start offering dairy-free cheddar cheese in addition to plant-based patties on March 1 at New York and New Jersey locations.

The new vegan topping comes as the fast-food industry adjusts to the growing demand for vegan and vegetarian options.

"We’ve broadened the base of our customers and reached out and met them where they are," White Castle Vice President Jaime Richardson told Cheddar. "We know our younger customers especially are looking for more choices."

The 99-year-old fast-food chain had already proven itself an early adopter of alternative food trends, partnering with Impossible Foods in 2018 to offer a plant-based patty in place of ground beef.

Richardson said this flexibility is owed to the company’s family-owned status.

"We really like being family-owned and privately-held," he said. "It gives us permission to make mistakes, fail fast, and learn something."

The hamburger joint, which is credited as the country’s first fast-food chain, has remained remarkably consistent over its century in business, but consumer expectations are changing rapidly as vendors make inroads into the fast-food industry with non-meat, plant-based options.

McDonald’s and Dunkin’ both recently partnered with Beyond Meat to offer plant-based patties at select locations.

Impossible Foods, meanwhile, appears to have backpedaled from picking up new large-scale partners that could test its supply, dropping out of talks with McDonald’s earlier this year.

However, it has remained partnered with White Castle, which offers a non-meat patty for $1.99. The sandwich even garnered some rave reviews

The "Impossible Slider" currently uses smoked cheddar cheese, but the new dairy-free cheese from Washington-based Good Planet Foods will give customers a completely vegan option.

Richardson touted the brand’s responsiveness and said White Castle hopes to remain nimble and flexible to new demand in the years ahead.

"It doesn’t have to be a three-year process," he said. "We can do this in weeks or months. It keeps it fun."