What Is Kitchen United?
We’ve put a lot of energy toward developing every aspect of Kitchen United — the community, the kitchens, the services, the financial model, the market fit, the delivery optimization, etc. — so much so that Kitchen United has grown in definition over time, even in just the last few months.
Frankly, it can be a struggle to answer the relatively simple question: “What’s Kitchen United?”
Are we WeWork for the culinary industry? Sure, but we’d rather not base our own definition on another (albeit wildly successful) company. Are we Switzerland in a competitive food market? Yes, that’s true, and poetic, and vague.
Some base facts, to start:
- We’re a kitchen facility, including both virtual restaurants (delivery/pickup-only) and a kitchen share (co-working space).
- We’re back-of-house optimized — we do (pretty much) everything but cook, so our members can focus on what they do best: cook.
- We’re a community. We have line cooks working next to chefs working next to caterers next to food truckers next to bakers next to meal preppers next to Smorgasburgers next to…us. We’re the whole culinary world, in one place.
That is, literally, what we are. Right now.
What’s next is the rest.
What is KU?
I asked our leadership team for help; because the truth is, we’re all of the below:
CEO Jim Collins:
Kitchen United connects food providers to consumers through an innovative network of commercial kitchens deployed in high demand locations and stocked with a knowledgeable staff who are vested in our customers’ success.
COO Meredith Sandland:
Consumers want delivery, but the current model is not working for anyone in the ecosystem. Kitchen United is a back-of-house platform optimized for off-premise. Kitchen United will make delivery work better for everyone: more profit for restaurants and delivery companies, more choices for consumers, and more community for drivers and chefs.
CBO Atul Sood:
Kitchen United provides restaurants and food service entrepreneurs with the ability to scale their businesses efficiently and with limited risk. As a community food hub, a local outpost of multiple restaurants, and a center of the local food revolution, we’re the infrastructure to power the future of food.
CCO Massimo Noja de Marco:
For the virtual restaurant we provide a space for chefs to do what they do best: cook amazing meals. We take care of the rest.
For the shared kitchen, we make dreams come true for young cooks and food entrepreneurs, incubating their product and helping them get it to market.
That all being said, we’re pretty big fans of “show, don’t tell.” If you’re in LA, visit our contact page to set up a time to come see our place in Pasadena — it’s cool. And one walkthrough is a better answer to “What is KU?” than anything we’ve said here.
