Optimism is still alive in the restaurant industry. What else but optimism—or a very wealthy business partner—would cause someone to open new restaurants in the midst of a pandemic?
SocialEats Food Hall, which has locations in Santa Monica and Hollywood, is partnering with CloudKitchens in Anaheim to bring four of its delivery-only restaurant concepts (Pop’s Burgers & Shakes, Azule Taqueria, Supertoro and Street Noods—owned by K2 Restaurants) to Orange County early this year.
“We’ve been fortunate to have the ability to reimagine SocialEats as we continue to overcome the challenges in the food industry this year,” said John Kolaski, owner of K2 Restaurants. “The decision to pivot to a delivery-only outpost and partner with CloudKitchens marks a great milestone in our expansion strategy. We’re now in a position to grow our in-house SocialEats Good Eats, delivered free local delivery program beyond Los Angeles County and reach our customers throughout Southern California.”
Uber-Kitchen
CloudKitchens is a new ghost kitchen venture backed in part by Travis Kalanick, the former CEO of Uber Technologies Inc.
He spent in excess of $130 million to amass a portfolio of more than 40 properties to serve the venture, with many in SoCal, according to national news reports.
The Anaheim spot is the only known location in OC for the secretive venture.
Boiling Crab Concept
SocialEats will also bring a new restaurant, Hollywood Crab Shack, to all locations including Anaheim, early this year. The boiling crab concept offers on-the-go bagged main seafood options including crab (Dungeness, King, Stone, Blue), shrimp, crawfish, clams, mussels and lobster, available mild, medium and spicy, along with sides like red potatoes, andouille sausage, crispy calamari, corn, crusty bread, white rice and fries.
So why branch out to Orange County?
“I have always loved Orange County,” Kolaski told me. “When I moved from New York, I came to Laguna Beach to help open the Montage Resort. I always wanted to make my way back down there. It’s a great opportunity to expand.”
Also great for SocialEats Corporate Chef Luis Torres, who lives in Orange County. Torres served as executive sous chef at Waterman’s Harbor in Dana Point before joining K2 Restaurants. Waterman’s Harbor was recognized at the Golden Foodie Awards for Best Seafood Restaurant. Torres also served as sous-chef at the Montage’s Loft in Laguna Beach.
Kolaski said he’s wanted to expand his culinary footprint and thinks his concepts will resonate with OC diners. He acknowledged there are numerous burger concepts but thinks his Pop’s Burgers are different.
“It’s the flavor and price point, and how it travels. It needs to be the best burger it can be when it’s delivered,” he said.
Same with the tacos, and sushi, and noodles—high-quality dining at a fine fast casual price point.
“It’s our first launch of a cloud kitchen only brand,” Kolaski admitted, although his L.A. restaurants have essentially been in the takeout and delivery mode since last March.
“It did not make sense for us to reopen up for a couple of weeks, so we launched the delivery program,” he said.
Packaging Key
Being able to oversee the customer experience from order to delivery touchpoint was a critical component to his business strategy.
Packaging was another key element, Kolaski said.
“Being able to retain heat, keep cold items separated from hot items, that ability to do the delivery when the food is ready—we had an issue with other parties doing deliveries for us with the timing of them picking it up, having them push off the delivery time and ruining the experience, having to remake food. Now, the end-user can have the same flavor profile, heat texture, as though they are in our store eating it.”
Kolaski said he is adding electric vehicles to his delivery fleet to help minimize impact.
Kolaski heaped praise on Chef Torres, whom he called “one of the most talented cooks. He knows how to make a dish talk, he knows the flavors and spices and techniques, he knows how to build a recipe so others can execute it consistently.”
Kolaski plans to promote his new OC restaurants via social media and SEO marketing until he has the opportunity to participate in Orange County food events.
Early Reviews
Talking to Kolaski made me curious, and hungry. On the Monday before Christmas, I drove to the SocialEats Food Hall on Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade to sample some of the cuisine that will be coming to OC.
Kolaski met me at the restaurant and prepared a sampling of the four menus: a Pop’s double burger, Azule pineapple pork belly taco and mushroom taco, spicy tuna crispy rice and yellowtail from Super Toro, and Cajun shrimp yakisoba from Street Noods. Oh—and a handmade chocolate milkshake.
The Creekstone Farms burger is dusted with Pop’s seasoning, red wine and grass-fed butter, then topped with secret sauce, pickles, caramelized onions, and American cheese and packed between a potato roll.
“This is a fantastic burger,” I told him as I eagerly took several bites. “The seasoning, the secret sauce, the melted cheese—the flavors blend perfectly. It’s damn good.”
Next came the tacos, served street-style with a modern twist. The “Wild and Free” taco has slow-roasted wild mushrooms, garlic, herbs, house salsa, radish sprouts, manchego cheese, and garlic aioli, served on a corn tortilla, while the roasted pork belly taco boasts charred pineapple, pickled onions, roasted garlic aioli, and house salsa on a corn tortilla.
“These are both excellent,” I told Kolaski. “Again, a perfect mix of flavors. I love the simpleness of the roasted pork belly taco. The sweetness of the pineapple is perfect with the pork belly and the aioli.”
I ate the sushi on the way back to my car, and paused to dip my chopsticks into the container of noodles. Despite the other dishes I had already devoured, I dug into the shrimp noodles served Southern style with golden chive, lemongrass and Cajun butter. These are addicting noodles. I forced myself to stop and capped the container. I finished the rest of the noodles for dinner that night.
Based on what I learned about SocialEats and after sampling the cuisine, I’m looking forward to ordering from the Anaheim SocialEats once it opens later this month.
For more information, visit www.ordersocialeats.com.
