Everything Legendary: Here's What Happened After Appearing On Shark Tank

For Duane Cheers, Danita Claytor, and chef Jumoke Jackson, eating well was a deeply personal issue. Both Cheers and Claytor had parents who dealt with chronic illness and watched them struggle to eat nutritiously, often rejecting tasteless health food. On a macro level, the dream team behind Everything Legendary was also concerned with the wellness of the Black community in America, especially with heart disease and obesity on the rise. They wanted to create a product that was tasty, attractive, and better for you all at once. They settled upon a burger that Cheers called the Wagyu or caviar of meat substitutes: a patty crafted from hemp protein and a secret blend of spices that both looked and tasted just as good as the very best beef burger.

Nowadays, there's a competitive market for plant-based meat alternatives and "Shark Tank" has seen its fair share: Beyond Sushi, for instance, made a name for its vegan sushi when appearing on the show. Prior to its episode, Everything Legendary was starting to get some traction, having sold $165,000 worth of its premium veggie burgers in a year. Its founders had received a buy-out offer from a local restaurant in their home territory of Prince William County, Maryland, but the Everything Legendary team was holding out for someone with bigger teeth ... an investor from "Shark Tank." They appeared on Season 12 of the hit show with a platter of burgers and big plans.

Cheers, Claytor, and Jackson wowed the assembled sharks with their burgers, which were stuffed with vegan cheese and topped with caramelized onions (of which the key to cooking is lots of time and patience). They asked for $300,000 in exchange for 10% of Everything Legendary. Kevin O'Leary dubbed the plant-based burger the best he'd ever eaten, but almost immediately, the sharks wanted to know why Everything Legendary burgers cost so much. Online, a four-pack of patties went for $45 and an eight-pack for $75, a cost that Barbara Corcoran pointed out was 30% higher than much of the competition. The team explained that, currently, their products were being made by hand in Cheers' mother's kitchen and that overhead was high. They also mentioned that they hadn't spent any money on customer acquisition, relying solely on good word-of-mouth.

For Lori Greiner, Corcoran, and O'Leary, the pricey patties didn't feel like a winning proposition and they dropped out. Mark Cuban, however, was intrigued by the high quality of Everything Legendary's product and suggested a pivot to selling the burgers directly from cloud kitchens on local delivery services. In fact, that was a model the company had dabbled in before COVID-19 forced them to adopt an online sales model. If they were willing to go in that direction, Cuban promised, he would give them the $300,000 in exchange for 25%. After a bit of negotiating, Cheers got him to negotiate down to 22%, and a deal was struck.

While some "Shark Tank" deals die in the due diligence phase immediately after filming, Everything Legendary actually closed its deal with Mark Cuban, just like SubSafe did with Cuban and Charles Barkley after appearing on the show. The subsequent "Shark Tank effect" was profound; Everything Legendary did a whopping $250,000 in sales just 24 hours after its episode aired. Within four months, the team raked in $1.7 million worth of vegan burgers. In post-show interviews, Cuban praised the verve and drive of the Everything Legendary team, commenting that they were relentlessly determined to succeed and took steps to make that happen, like pushing to meet with vendors and organizing pop-up events to drive brand awareness.

By 2022, the company had secured $6 million in Series A funding backed by General Mills, recruited Russell Simmons as a member of its senior board, and was available in 1,500 stores, including Acme, Giant, and Safeway. Restaurants like House of Blues added Everything Legendary to menus and a Go Legendary food truck even joined the company, providing the direct-to-customer sales that Cuban envisioned. 

Up until 2024, it seemed like Everything Legendary had nowhere to go but up and would stand out in "Shark Tank" history as one of its great success stories. Indeed, there's no question that this company was doing blockbuster burger business ... right up until it wasn't.

Puzzlingly, Everything Legendary's once-active social media accounts have been silent since 2024. Its Instagram account was posting near-daily up until May 2024, then suddenly stopped. No more promotions and sales alerts, no more colorful advertisements, and no more scrumptious pictures of Everything Legendary patties on the grill, which could entice home chefs who know the best temperature for grilling burgers. Likewise, the company Facebook page has only posted once since May 2024, and there has, as of this writing, been no official activity there since October 2024. On the company website, the store locator shows "no stores found," and the shop page is empty.

A deep dive shows that the burgers may still be on sale at select Target stores but are listed as out of stock at Balducci's, Amazon, Ralphs, and Kroger, leading us to wonder if production cut back or even ceased ... and, if so, why. Perhaps the quality took a dive. Customer ratings on several of those partner sites are low, and Foodie's sister site Tasting Table rated Everything Legendary as the absolute worst meatless ground beef brand its writer tasted. Plant-based eaters have to put up with a lot of inferior meat substitutes, and, for every vegan Just Egg product that shines in comparison with the animal equivalent, there seem to be a dozen mealy, gross products pushed on desperate consumers. Everything Legendary promised a top-shelf burger, but did it deliver? The jury seems to be hung.

The team behind Everything Legendary — Duane Cheers, Danita Claytor, and Jumoke Jackson — all shout out the company in their Instagram bios, but seem to be busy with their own respective ventures. Jackson, who goes by the appellation "Mr. Foodtastic," bills himself as a personal chef and entrepreneur, selling virtual biscuit-making classes, posting cooking tips and tricks, and sharing recipes. According to his website, he is currently employed as executive chef for a vegan fast-casual restaurant company.

Cheers, who goes by the pseudonym Duane Myko, lists his occupations as best-selling author and motivational speaker. He posts frequently about his family and loved ones. Since Everything Legendary's socials stopped posting, he has occasionally mentioned the company on his own feed, but not in any way that makes the current status of his vegan burgers clear.

Claytor's social media reveals that she and Cheers have since entered into a relationship and welcomed a daughter together. She posts ample amounts of fitness content, proving that focusing on a healthy lifestyle is still a major part of her life. Only time will tell if Everything Legendary returns from its silence and reclaims its plant-based burger share of the vegan food market. In the meantime, its founders are all keeping themselves occupied.

Static Media owns and operates Foodie and Tasting Table.