Kroger has opened its first ghost kitchen at a Ralphs in Los Angeles. The company expects to expand the project to Texas in the near future.
The company is working with Kitchen United to open the ghost kitchen.
“When our customers think of food, they think of Kroger,” said Dan De La Rosa, group vice president of fresh merchandising for Kroger. “The Kitchen United collaboration provides the fresh, on-demand meals our customers crave. It is one more innovative example of how Kroger is fulfilling its commitment to anything, anywhere, anytime.”
The kitchen center enables customers to place an order digitally through Kitchen United via web, mobile or an in-person ordering kiosk. Customers can then pick up their meal onsite or have it delivered. Restaurant staff will prepare the orders.
Delivery service fees will be determined by third-party providers.
“We couldn’t be prouder that Kroger and Kitchen United chose to open the collaboration’s first location in Ralphs,” said Kendra Doyel, vice president – merchandising at Ralphs. “Our customers come to us to find the freshest food and to answer the all-important ‘what’s for dinner?’ question. This collaboration provides our customers one more simple meal solution that they can pair with Ralphs’ fresh products.”
Kroger announced the ghost kitchen initiative in August. The goal is to diversify consumer options and take advantage of the growing ghost kitchen trend. People will be able to place orders from multiple restaurants at one time.
“We proudly operate successful ghost kitchens across the country and will apply that expertise to reimagine takeout and delivery within Kroger stores,” said Michael Montagano, chief executive officer of Kitchen United. “Our work together provides millions of Kroger customers access to their favorite restaurant cuisines in a convenient supermarket format while providing Kitchen United and our restaurant partners a high-touch, interactive storefront.”
Geoff Goodman, CEO of Fresh Brothers, add:
“We first partnered with Kitchen United MIX in Pasadena,” he said. “Their operations team is wonderful to work with and their collaboration with Kroger so ground-breaking, we jumped at the opportunity to be part of this innovative offering in the heart of Bruin country. With UCLA just steps away, along with strong residential, office and healthcare audiences, we felt this would be an ideal fit for our brand. We’re very excited to be part of the Westwood Village community.”
