Kroger, Kitchen United MIX Open 1st Location in Dallas

Cincinnati-based Kroger Co., through a growing partnership with Kitchen United MIX, opened its first virtual food hall in Dallas, the retailer announced Monday.

Kitchen United MIX is now open inside the Kroger store at 5665 E. Mockingbird Lane, giving shoppers the option to order meals from several different restaurants while they're picking up milk, bread and broccoli. It's the ghost kitchen platform's third such partnership with Kroger and fourth Texas location overall, including a new location in Frisco that opened last month. 

"We recently debuted our supermarket concept, and guests have been incredibly impressed with the convenience and variety Kitchen United MIX provides," Kitchen United CEO Michael Montagano said in a statement. 

As a virtual food court located inside the grocery store, shoppers can mix and match their meals from local and national fast-casual restaurant chains such as Dog Haus, Curry Up Now, Monkey King Noodle Company and more. Customers can place their orders via on-site digital kiosks, online at KitchenUnited.com or through the Kitchen United MIX App.

"When our customers think of food, they think of Kroger," said Dan De La Rosa, group VP of fresh merchandising for Kroger, in a statement. "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."

Looking to answer the infamous “what's for dinner tonight?" question, Keith Shoemaker, president of the Kroger Dallas division, said the collaboration with Kitchen United is “special because customers' restaurant-quality meal will be crafted while they're shopping for the fresh food and pantry staples their families need."

While customers can also order from the restaurants housed in Kitchen United MIX through various third-party delivery platforms, Kitchen United MIX  said that "multi-restaurant ordering" is only available through its ordering platform.

"With our proprietary, leading-edge technology, Kitchen United MIX is revolutionizing the way people order takeout, and we couldn't be more excited to introduce this one-of-a-kind experience to Dallas," Montagano said. "We've secured the perfect location near SMU for us to deliver to college students seeking quick, easy meals and serve locals in surrounding neighborhoods who enjoy having delicious options to take home to their family after they get their grocery shopping done."

Last week, Kroger said it's adding two additional spoke facilities—one in the Chicago metro area and the other in Nashville—as part of the geographic expansion for the parent of supermarket chains such as Ralph's, King Soopers, Mariano's and many more.