Sponsored By

Ralphs debuts restaurant kitchen in Westwood L.A. store

Location marks first ghost kitchen in Kroger partnership with Kitchen United

Russell Redman

January 7, 2022

3 Min Read
Kroger-Ralphs_Westwood_LA_store-Kitchen_United_MIX_opening.jpg
At the Kitchen United MIX location in Ralphs' Westwood store in Los Angeles, shoppers can mix orders from multiple restaurants and have their purchases grouped on one receipt.The Kroger Co.

Ralphs Grocery has launched a ghost kitchen inside its store in the Westwood section of Los Angeles under a partnership between parent Kroger Co. and Kitchen United.

The off-premise restaurant kitchen, opened this week, allows customers to place orders via web, mobile or an in-person ordering kiosk using Kitchen United’s MIX restaurant hub platform and then pick up their meals on-site or have them delivered. Currently, customers can choose from 10 eateries, and they can mix orders from multiple restaurants and have their purchases grouped on one receipt.

“When our customers think of food, they think of Kroger,” Dan De La Rosa, group vice president of fresh merchandising for The Kroger Co., said 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.”

Kroger-Ralphs Westwood LA store-Kitchen United restaurants.png

Currently, Ralphs customers can choose from 10 food vendors at the Westwood Kitchen United MIX site, ordering online or in person.

Food vendors at the restaurant kitchen in the Westwood Ralphs, located at 10861 Weyburn Ave. in L.A., include Fresh Brothers (pizza), Bushi by Jinya (Japanese), Sajj Mediterranean (Mediterranean), Doghaus (American), The Impossible Shop (American), Wild Rice Asian Kitchen (sushi), Jailbird (wings and tenders), Plant B (vegetarian), Bad-Ass Breakfast Burritos (breakfast) and Bad Mutha Clucka (chicken). Restaurant staff prepare the orders, and the meals can be picked up at the store or delivered to customers’ homes, with delivery service fees set by third-party providers. The kitchen takes orders from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Related:Albertsons Cos. tests ‘smart’ salad bars

The Ralphs Westwood kitchen marks the first location of the Kroger-Kitchen United national partnership, announced in August. Plans call for more sites, which are bannered as “Kitchen United MIX,” to open later this month in Texas, Kroger reported. The Cincinnati-based supermarket giant noted that the program brings fresh, restaurant-quality meals directly to Ralphs shoppers.

“We couldn’t be prouder that Kroger and Kitchen United chose to open the collaboration’s first location in Ralphs,” commented Kendra Doyel, vice president of merchandising at L.A.-based Ralphs, which operates about 190 stores in Southern California and the state’s Central Coast region. “Our customers come to us to find the freshest food and to answer the all-important ‘what’s for dinner’ question. This collaboration provides our customers one more simple meal solution that they can pair with Ralphs’ fresh products.”

The Kitchen United partnership marks Kroger’s second on-site ghost kitchen collaboration announced by Kroger since the fall of 2020. That October, the grocer unveiled plans to launch two ghost kitchens with ClusterTruck inside stores in metropolitan Indianapolis and outside Columbus, Ohio, for on-demand delivery of freshly prepared meals. The rollout followed a pilot of a meal service — dubbed Kroger Delivery Kitchen Powered by ClusterTruck — from off-site “scratch kitchens” in late 2019.

Related:More Saladworks restaurants open in Giant supermarkets

“We proudly operate successful ghost kitchens across the country and will apply that expertise to reimagine takeout and delivery within Kroger stores,” stated Michael Montagano, CEO of Pasadena, Calif.-based Kitchen United. “Our work together provides millions of Kroger customers access to their favorite restaurant cuisines in a convenient supermarket format, while providing Kitchen United and our restaurant partners a high-touch, interactive storefront. We are excited to bring this creative solution to the Westwood community.”

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

Stay up-to-date on the latest food retail news and trends
Subscribe to free eNewsletters from Supermarket News

You May Also Like