Kitchen-sharing startup makes for Ohio

Kitchen United, a California-based company that operates food production facilities, will open its third kitchen center soon in Columbus.

The service will take over 36,072 square feet at 14711481 Goodale Boulevard in Grandview Heights, in a building formerly occupied by printer Fineline Graphics.

With locations already in Pasadena, California, and Chicago, this is the third site for fast-growing Kitchen United, which plans to open 15 locations this year in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Seattle, Denver and New York City, among other cities.

Kitchen United rents kitchen space to deliveryonly restaurants and offers support services for caterers and restaurateurs as well as parking for third-party delivery drivers.

Last year, Google’s parent company joined several venture capitalists to invest $10 million in the startup company, according to a report in trade publication Restaurant Business.

Kitchen United is focused on the growing off-premise restaurant business that seeks to tap into the $35 billion food delivery market, which is expected to reach $365 billion by 2030, according

to trade publication Nation’s Restaurant News.

The first Kitchen United facility opened in Pasadena in early 2018 serves about seven restaurants, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.

Like that facility, Kitchen United’s building in Grandview Heights will be “almost a virtual restaurant,” said Bob Welcher, president of Restaurant Consultants.

“It kind of reminds me of what happened with food trucks. It allows operators to try out concepts without getting into all the expenses. There are a lot of people who want into this business but the cost versus risk is huge. So if you minimize the cost, you will get more people into it.”

The facility also allows existing restaurant operators to offer added services, such as delivery or catering, without putting stress on their existing operations, Welcher said.

“That can take a lot of pressure off a restaurant,” he said. “It’s a whole new ballgame.”