Delivery

Ghosts in Edible's 'machine' will drive brand's growth

Photo: iStock.

April 29, 2021

Edible has opened a delivery-only ghost kitchen to help San Jose-area stores meet delivery needs, a news release said. Multi-unit operator Jeffrey Zhang owns five stores across Sunnyvale, Brentwood, Pleaanton, Walut Cree and Redwood City.

Edible said its first ghost kitchen, which opened in Tucker, Georgia this past February, saw triple-digit sales in its first week alone and a similar expectation is set for the San Jose location under the close guidance of Zhang.

"As a longtime operator with Edible, this new design stuck out to me as delivery orders have been on a steady climb to start the year," Zhang said in the release. "A facility supporting that aspect of our business takes our product reach to greater heights and allows us to expand the number of zip codes we serve.

"As I continue to see our customer-base and product offerings expand, I'm eager to continue growing with the brand. Following the launch of our ghost kitchen, I see a bright future for myself and Edible as I eventually would like to open even more stores in the areas this new site will support."

Assisting Zhang with operations will be his general manager, Martin Rojo, and store managers Flora Flores, Jose Barajas, Esmeralda Guerra, Edith Cruz, Maria Hernandez, and Kelly Nguyen.

"Our ghost kitchen model has been widely successful as the demand for delivery continues nationwide," Tarji Carter, Edible franchise sales director, said in the release. "The design came at an ideal time for Edible, during one of our busiest holidays, and has helped fast-track the number of orders processed in the Atlanta area since its opening.

"Now as we look to expand this innovative model, Northern California was the perfect market to house our second location. We're eager to see Jeffrey oversee the operations at our newest site and look forward to having additional ghost kitchens open across the country."

Edible is on an expansion path and in search of franchisees. The company said investments for operators start at $173,600. Currently, the Atlanta-based company has more than 1,000 locations globally.