Kitchen United Acquires Ghost Kitchen Developer

Kitchen United got a little bigger today as it announced its first acquisition.

The Pasadena, Calif.-based virtual kitchen company purchased software and ghost kitchen developer Zuul, which will allow the company to support consumer demand for delivery and takeout growth in New York City. According to a press release, Zuul was one of the first ghost kitchens in the New York City market and has laid a foundation that will enable expansion of this type of business model in a massive, key market.

“As we looked for opportunities to continue to build upon our leadership position and scale into new territories, strengthening our platform with the addition of Zuul and its cutting-edge ZuulOS technology made strategic sense,” says Michael Montagano, CEO of Kitchen United, in a press release.

Unique to Zuul, ZuulOS enables operators to create their own virtual food halls and easily fulfill multi-brand orders. The company also powers native online ordering and batched deliveries with a partner network to provide an efficient delivery model that will marry with Kitchen United’s technology platform MIX.

Zuul also created Zuul Market, which allows established operators to create food delivery programs under existing brands. This will be translated to Kitchen United’s offering to support the growth of more virtual brands within its centers.

The Zuul executive team will remain intact, and the Zuul brand will be incorporated into the Kitchen United brand. The existing Zuul facility at 30 Vandam St. in Manhattan will transition to a Kitchen United MIX kitchen center. Kitchen United is slated to open a second Manhattan location this month.

Kitchen United debuted in 2018 and offers commercial kitchen space as a low-risk way for emerging and established restaurant brands to enter new markets, grow revenue through off-premise dining and expand delivery areas.