- Kitchen-as-a-service company Kitchen United announced it raised $40 million in Series B co-led by RXR Realty and GV (formerly Google Ventures)
Kitchen United — a kitchen as a service company that is built to serve the fast growing world of off-premise dining — announced it raised $40 million in Series B funding co-led by RXR Realty (one of New York City’s largest real estate owners and developers) and GV (formerly known as Google Ventures) with participation by certain funds managed by Fidelity Investments Canada ULC, DivcoWest, and G Squared. Existing investors and founders John Miller, Harry Tsao, and several others also joined the round.
With RXR Realty’s relationship, Kitchen United will be entering the New York City market and set up kitchen centers in RXR and other properties in the tristate area. And the company continues to seek out attractive properties in its primary growth markets, including New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Boston.
“In just over two years, we have only scratched the surface on the massive opportunity for brands to serve their guests where they want to be served, which is increasingly outside their traditional four-wall space,” said Jim Collins, CEO of Kitchen United. “We’re incredibly appreciative of our investors who understand the opportunity we present as a strategic real estate partner, meeting the needs of the top restaurant brands in the country as they find new ways to serve their loyal customers.”
“We share Kitchen United’s vision for the future of the restaurant industry and believe the consumer shift toward off-premise dining is already having a huge impact on both residential and commercial real estate,” added Scott Rechler, the Chairman and CEO of RXR Realty. “We are thrilled to be an early supporter of Kitchen United and look forward to working together to change how New Yorkers live, work, play, and stay.”
In a report, William Blair pointed out that U.S. off-premise restaurant sales in 2018 were $279 billion with an expectation for that number to grow to $402 billion in 2022.
Kitchen United launched in 2017 and it offers innovative restaurant chains a value-driven and low-risk opportunity to grow their business without the high cost of building out a standalone restaurant. Kitchen United’s commercial kitchen centers each house 10 to 15 restaurant brands and it allows the restaurant to focus on the food while Kitchen United takes care of the rest. With locations open in Pasadena and Chicago, Kitchen United will soon open in Scottsdale and Austin with additional sites under construction in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and several other major markets.
