Kitchen United, the GV-backed start-up creating a new way for restaurant brands to expand via off-premise optimized kitchen centers, today announced The Halal Guys and Wetzel’s Pretzels have established operations at the company’s Pasadena kitchen center. The company has also debuted Fresgo, its own fast and fresh Italian offering that is now serving out of Pasadena. The Halal Guys and Fresgo are now available for pickup, delivery and catering from the off-premise kitchen space, with Wetzel’s Pretzels officially opening April 1.
Kitchen United’s Pasadena kitchen center opened last year and is also home to Canter’s Deli, AmazeBowls, chEAT Day, Grilled Cheese Heaven, Mama Musubi and The Pizza Plant. In addition to the Halal Guys and Wetzel’s Pretzels, Fresgo joins the lineup and will serve authentic Italian paninis, salads, pasta and more. The concept was born out of a desire to serve as a committed partner to its restaurant clients, and as a result will share data and learnings from Fresgo in order to help its restaurant brands maximize their experience with Kitchen United.
“One of Kitchen United’s goals from the beginning has been to leverage our collective restaurant experience to help our restaurant partners take a leadership position in delivery, a fast emerging growth opportunity in the industry,” says Jim Collins, Chief Executive Officer of Kitchen United. “As a team of restauranteurs, we are thrilled to launch Fresgo in order to provide valuable insight and learnings to our partners. We are very pleased to add The Halal Guys and Wetzel’s Pretzels to our family of restaurant partners in order to help them expand their reach into the Pasadena market.”
“As a brand that started as a food cart in NYC, we know firsthand the value of providing an off-premise experience for our customers,” adds Thomas Pham, CEO, Halal or Nothing, a franchisee of The Halal Guys. “As we continue to grow our footprint, the addition of a delivery and takeout only kitchen made perfect sense for us as we seek out ways to bring our food directly to our consumer in a convenient way.”
“As a Pasadena-based company, we’re excited to partner with Kitchen United to bring pretzels to the people, delivering fans a delicious experience wherever, and whenever they crave it,” says Jennifer Schuler, CEO of Wetzel’s Pretzels. “Kitchen United is bringing a revolutionary approach to capitalizing on consumer trends toward delivery and being a place where restaurants, from start-ups to long established brands, can navigate this changing foodservice landscape, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it.”
To celebrate its newest additions in Pasadena, Kitchen United will be hosting a complimentary tasting celebration on March 28 at its Pasadena Kitchen Center from 12:00 p.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Kitchen United is expanding across the U.S. with kitchen centers open in Pasadena and Chicago, and new kitchen centers slated to open this year in Atlanta, Columbus, Austin and Scottsdale. The company plans to end the year with 15 kitchen centers open, each housing between 10 and 20 restaurant brands that will power their delivery operations through Kitchen United.
