Ralphs, Kitchen United MIX Open 1st Location in Los Angeles

Kroger's California Ralph’s banner and Kitchen United MIX opened a kitchen center in Los Angeles, Calif., on Jan. 7, which hopes to satisfy even the pickiest eaters.

The off-premise restaurant kitchen is located at 10861 Weyburn Ave., and it is the first to open after Ralphs' parent company Kroger and Kitchen United announced its national partnership in August 2021.

Dan De La Rosa, group VP of fresh merchandising for Kroger, in a statement said, "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."

Shoppers can choose to mix and match their meals from Fresh Brothers, Bushi by Jinya, Sajj Mediterranean, Doghaus and more. Customers can place their orders from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. Customers have the option to build their freshly prepared, on-demand restaurant meals from any or all the participating restaurants.

The Los Angeles location is the first of the Kroger-Kitchen United collaboration. Later in the month, additional locations in Texas are anticipated to open.

Kendra Doyel, VP of merchandising for Ralphs, said in a statement, "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."

The kitchen center will enable customers to place an order digitally using Kitchen United's proprietary MIX platform via web, mobile or an in-person ordering kiosk. Customers can then pick up their meal on-site or have it delivered. Restaurant staff will prepare the orders, and delivery service fees will be determined by third-party providers.

"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, CEO 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. We are excited to bring this creative solution to the Westwood community."

The off-premise restaurant approach brings fresh, restaurant-quality meals directly to Ralphs shoppers and Geoff Goodman, CEO of Fresh Brothers, is excited to be a part of it.

"We first partnered with Kitchen United MIX in Pasadena," said Geoff Goodman, CEO of Fresh Brothers. "Their operations team is wonderful to work with and their collaboration with Kroger is 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."  

Founded in 2017, Kitchen United is a leading provider of restaurant hub technology, streamlined logistics and turn-key commercial kitchen space that empowers foodservice operators to tap into the growing off-premise business opportunity and offers consumers a first-of-its-kind to-go experience.