Riverside’s Fox Entertainment Plaza downtown opening virtual food hall, arcade

A retro gaming arcade in downtown Riverside is tapping into a trend of contactless restaurant service with a virtual food hall.

The new enterprise is called CoLab Kitchens, a partnership between the

10,000-square-foot Riverside Game Lab and

Riverside Food Lab in the Fox Entertainment

Plaza.

Alex Teran and Arteco

Partners, which runs the Food Lab, opened the arcade in September 2019, less than six months before the novel coronavirus pandemic took hold and the first stay-at-home orders in mid-March.

At the time, Teran was setting up a kitchen to begin food service in the Game Lab and instead had to pivot, he said in a phone interview.

“We had to figure out how to stay alive.” Like Southern California restaurant chains such as Dog Haus and Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, Teran decided to set up a ghost kitchen.

He consulted with Arteco Partners on what foods could enhance the Food Lab’s offerings and set up three brands serving hot dogs, grilled cheese and deli sandwiches.

Virtual food halls build on the concept of virtual kitchens, also known as ghost kitchens, delivery-only restaurants with no seating capacity.

They are more web-based than traditional food halls, where several small restaurants offer counter service and customers share a common dining area.

They are popping up in other parts of Southern California. A chain called SocialEats has locations in Santa Monica, Hollywood and Anaheim.

Purchases from virtual food halls are made online, or occasionally a single kiosk within a food hall, and the food is either delivered or picked up at a common window. In the case of CoLab, food is prepared by the Game Lab’s kitchen staff and picked up at the main entrance, Teran said.

CoLab and eateries within the Food Lab also offer third-party deliveries.

CoLab’s brands are:

Death Valley Hot Dogs, serving classics including hot dogs with ketchup and mustard, and Chicago style and L.A. Street dogs for $7.50-$8.50.

The Cheese Witch, serving grilled sandwiches with a variety of cheeses, meats and sauces for $9-$10.

Rubidoh! Deli, serving cold meat sandwiches, veggie sandwiches and build-yourown for $9-$12.50.

Since CoLab opened last week, the grilled cheese menu has been most successful.

“Four out of five of our top sellers are grilled cheese,” Teran said.