Longo's opens Toronto's first virtual food hall inside grocery store

Today, Kitchen Hub, Canada's first virtual food hall, opens its fourth location inside Longo's Liberty Village, kicking off the start of a longer-term partnership with the Toronto-based grocery chain. This opening marks the first ghost kitchen concept to open inside a grocery store in the city — and the first of its kind in Canada. Future location opportunities are being explored.  

Photo Credit: Unbound Productions (CNW Group/Kitchen Hub)

Photo Credit: Unbound Productions (CNW Group/Kitchen Hub)

Kitchen Hub, known for providing unbelievable takeout, has four new kitchens at Longo's Liberty Village. There is a full menu of items from Toronto's beloved Thai restaurant PAI, Montreal's buzz-worthy Mandy's Gourmet Salads, rapidly-growing fried chicken and burger spot Cabano's Comfort Food and authentic Mexican fare from Elia Herrera of Colibri with Tecolote. Customers can mix and match items from all four restaurants as well as add grab-and-go offerings from The Cheesecake Factory Bakery, and Elle Dee Bakery. Longo's ready-to-eat items like housemade pizza, bento sushi boxes, salads, roasted chickens and all-day breakfast will also be available. All items can be ordered through Kitchen Hub's on-site kiosks as well as from KitchenHub.com or third-party delivery apps for contactless ordering, pick-up, dine-in or delivery.

"We are always looking for new ways to exceed the demands of the quickly evolving takeout channel," says Adam Armeland, Kitchen Hub Co-Founder and CEO. "We identified an incredible opportunity to not only expand our business model by adding a completely new style of virtual food hall, but also benefit our grocery partner by driving foot traffic in-store and our customers by providing streamlined access to unbelievable takeout in a way that's never been done before. We are thrilled to partner with Longo's, another Toronto-founded brand, for this exciting new expansion."

"At Longo's, our Guests are always looking for delicious food as well as increasingly convenient ways to shop for quality meal solutions. We understand the changing demands and behaviors of our Guests and take pride in always evolving to deliver the best shopping experience possible" said Anthony Longo, President and CEO of Longo's. "Kitchen Hub's collection of curated offerings from top-tier brands will ensure that we continue to elevate, innovate, and appeal to our Guests. We are excited to deliver this new offering to our Liberty Village community."

Kitchen Hub first opened its doors in 2020, providing infrastructure and services for restaurants to expand with low overhead costs, allowing them to reach new customers while maintaining  control of their food production. The brand has also developed proprietary technology, providing restaurant partners with a fully integrated suite of products and access to backend data in real-time. With these analytics, Kitchen Hub and its restaurant partners gain further insight into localized consumer trends and hone in offerings to reflect location-specific demands.

Kitchen Hub offers pickup or delivery via KitchenHub.com, all major third-party delivery services and from all Toronto locations: 935 The Queensway (Etobicoke), 234 Parliament Street (Downtown East), 1121 Castlefield Avenue (Castlefield Design Decor District) and the newly launched 1100 King St West, (Liberty Village). To celebrate the new Liberty Village location, Kitchen Hub will offer customers free delivery and $10 off their first online order (min. $40) at KitchenHub.com using the promo code: LIBERTY10 through to October 14, 2022. Not to be combined with other offers.

ABOUT KITCHEN HUB FOOD HALL

Kitchen Hub creates unbelievable takeout experiences. As Canada's first virtual food hall, Kitchen Hub is revolutionizing the takeout and delivery industry by bringing celebrated restaurants together under one roof. At all four GTA locations, customers can select menu items from all of Kitchen Hub's partners, resulting in a combination of foods they love — all in one takeout order. The concept allows for the surrounding neighbourhoods to have access to restaurants that previously were not in the delivery zone, while offering restaurants a viable business model for takeout by providing kitchen space, technology and services to expand with low upfront costs. Kitchen Hub was founded in early 2020, bringing together experts across the hospitality, technology and real estate industries. For more information visit KitchenHub.com or hear more from the brand's founders here.

ABOUT LONGO'S BROTHERS FRUIT MARKET

Longo's is a family-operated Canadian organization that started in 1956 when three brothers, Tommy, Joe and Gus, opened their first fruit market. What began as a small family-run store has since grown to a company that operates 36 stores in communities across Toronto and the GTA, as well as Grocery Gateway, the leader in online sales of home-delivered groceries. Today, Longo's maintains the same family-based values as they did 65 years ago, putting Family Standards at the heart of everything they do. Longo's is proud to serve their Guests the quality standard of food they believe every family deserves and to give back to the communities they operate in through the Longo Family Charitable Foundation.