Local Kitchens, the San Francisco-based operator of micro food halls that offer a diverse mix of top local restaurants under one roof, has announced plans to expand into Southern California this fall. With eight locations currently open in Northern California across the greater Bay Area and Sacramento, openings in Huntington Beach, Lake Forest and Redondo Beach mark the company’s entrance into Southern California. The Huntington Beach store will be located at 7151 Warner Ave Suite 105 within the Goldenwest & Warner Shopping Center; the Lake Forest store will be at 23621 El Toro Rd Suite C, and the Redondo Beach store will be located at 1109 S Pacific Coast Hwy.
The Southern California locations will feature a diverse mix of local Los Angeles and Orange County brands, including but not limited to: Baby Badass Burgers, Backyard Bowls, Chicas Tacos, Hanchic, Locali, Sweetfin, and Milk Bar. Several of the Northern California concepts currently partnered with Local Kitchens will also be expanding to the greater Southern California market, by way of this partnership. The initial confirmed brands include The Melt, SAJJ Mediterranean and Sushirrito, however the specific restaurant brands assigned to the Huntington Beach, Lake Forest and Redondo Beach locations will be confirmed at a later date.
CEO Jon Goldsmith founded Local Kitchens with COO Andrew Munday and CTO Jordan Bramble. Goldsmith and Munday, who were formerly colleagues at DoorDash, saw the impact that the pandemic had on local restaurants and started Local Kitchens to help restaurants expand beyond their brick and mortar locations. The entrepreneurs set out to transform the food hall experience, focusing on convenience and variety and allowing guests to mix and match cuisines from different restaurant concepts into a single order for dine in, takeout or delivery. Each Local Kitchens location features 5-10 local concepts and offers convenient online and mobile ordering, paired with fast and friendly service. Local Kitchens provides a solution for the pickiest family member and most adventurous foodie who can now mix and match, all on one check. In addition, this model allows local and regional restaurants to forgo the overhead costs of real estate, staffing, marketing and more in order to expand to a new market.
“Our guests in NorCal love the unique ability to easily mix and match from 5-10 different cuisines all in one order,” says Jon Goldsmith, CEO and co-founder of Local Kitchens. “We’re thrilled to introduce the same variety of cuisines and convenience to the Huntington Beach, Lake Forest and Redondo Beach communities as our first of many Southern California locations.”
Local Kitchens currently operates six locations in the Bay Area (Palo Alto, Mountain View, Cupertino, Campbell, Lafayette, and Los Gatos) and two locations in the greater Sacramento-area (Roseville and Davis). Since its launch in Summer 2020, the concept has raised $28 million through investors, including $25 million in Series A funding led by General Catalyst with support from existing investors Human Capital and Pear VC. New investors include Fifth Wall and Penny Jar Capital, an early-stage venture firm backed by Stephen Curry. Local Kitchens has rapidly expanded its footprint so far this year, opening four locations in eight months, with the Southern California openings and additional Bay Area locations opening before the end of the year.
