Goop Kitchen’s new brick-and-mortar location in San Diego has a spa vibe. | Photo courtesy of Goop Kitchen
Actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Kitchen concept opened its first dine-in restaurant in San Diego last month, leaving fans with a burning question: Will this grow as a brick-and-mortar concept?
The chain’s co-CEO Donald Moore this week offered an answer: Yes.
But the plan is to continue growth with the pickup/delivery-only format that has gotten the brand to 18 outlets in California and New York so far.
“Delivery and takeout will always be at the core of Goop Kitchen, and we’ll continue to grow that footprint,” said Moore, in an emailed interview. “At the same time, Del Mar [in San Diego] has given us an opportunity to explore what a more hospitality-driven, physical expression of the brand can look like.
“Going forward, I think you’ll see us experiment with a mix of formats,” Moore said. “That could mean delivery and pickup-focused kitchens in some markets, and more experiential locations in others,” he said. “We’ve grown very intentionally over the last five years, and we want to continue letting the market, the real estate, and, most importantly, our guests tell us what makes sense.”
Goop Kitchen is an offshoot of Paltrow’s lifestyle brand Goop, but is operated separately. It was first launched in Los Angeles in 2021 as a virtual brand and is a joint venture with DFG Ventures, of which Moore is a partner.
Also known as DOM Food Group, the founding partner is Tony Owen, whose grandfather founded the Dominick’s supermarket chain. Mendocino Farms co-founder Mario Del Pero is also a partner.
Goop Kitchen’s investors include venture capital firms Greycroft and Felix Capital, as well as Cloud Kitchens co-founders Travis Kalanick (who also founded Uber) and Diego Berdakin. Kalanick, more recently, founded Atoms, a robotics and automation company that has a delivery component.
The culinary side of Goop Kitchen is led by former fine-dining Chef Kim Floresca, now Goop Kitchen’s vice president of culinary, whose background includes the kitchens at el Bulli, Per Se, and The Restaurant at Meadowood.
Paltrow sets the culinary vision, along with Moore, who spent nearly two decades in culinary at The Cheesecake Factory, most recently as chief culinary officer and EVP kitchen operations.
“The three of us work closely on every dish, often spending months perfecting it to make sure it delivers on bold flavor, our ingredient standards, and a superb delivery experience,” said Moore.
Goop Kitchen offers an eclectic but healthful menu with “clean” ingredients, without refined sugar, seed oils or processed additives.
Moore said a top seller, both at the dine-in restaurant and across the virtual system, is the Teriyaki Bowl, featuring grilled chicken breast or thigh meat, on an umami rice blend with shiitake and brown rice.
The average check is about $38.48 and about 92% of sales systemwide is from delivery.
Virtual, or delivery-only, dining concepts once were seen as a promising growth opportunity in the post-pandemic era. But many virtual brands didn’t make it, including the multi-brand Virtual Dining Concepts that launched MrBeast Burger as a delivery concept, and Nextbite, which was acquired by SBE in 2023.
Wonder, founded by Marc Lore, however, is reinventing the model, and has raised some $3 billion to create a sort of mega food app and food hall network with menu partnerships with a multitude of chefs and restaurant concepts. Wonder has more than 150 locations and is growing rapidly.
Moore, meanwhile, said he sees national potential for Goop Kitchen.
“But, for us, it doesn’t mean opening everywhere as quickly as possible,” he said. “We’ve been very disciplined about how we grow and are intent on proving the economics, understanding the customer, and building the operating infrastructure for each expansion.
“We’re following demand where people value convenience without compromising on quality or customer experience,” he added. “If we can consistently deliver against that, there are a lot of markets where I think Goop Kitchen can thrive.”
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Lisa Jennings is a veteran restaurant industry reporter and editor who covers the fast-casual sector, independent restaurants and emerging chain concepts.
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