Tacolicious, Lazy Susan, and The Chairman Join the Diverse Offerings at Micro Food Hall
Local Kitchens has introduced three exciting additions to its offerings by welcoming The Chairman, Tacolicious and Lazy Susan as its newest concepts across various Local Kitchens locations. The Chairman has joined the Cupertino and Palo Alto locations; Tacolicious has joined in Mountain View and Cupertino, and Lazy Susan has joined in Palo Alto. These newest additions further diversify the cuisine options available under one roof at each Local Kitchens location where guests can mix and match dishes from all menus into a single order for pickup, dine-in, or delivery.
What started in 2009 with humble beginnings, Tacolicious’ authenticity and fresh ingredients has made the trendy Bay Area concept a go-to for guests seeking a variety of innovative tacos such as the
fan-favorite vampiro with griddled pepper jack, carne asada and roasted-tomato salsa. At Local Kitchens, the Tacolicious menu will include fan favorites such as chicken tinga tacos, the famous Marina Girl salad, and freshly made guacamole.
“Tacolicious has been a distinctly Bay Area brand since we started as a stand at San Francisco’s Ferry Building, and now the chance to join other local favorites at Local Kitchens is an amazing opportunity to expand our roots across the Bay” said Joe Hargrave, Founder and CEO of Tacolicious.
Voted as ‘Best Chinese’ by SF Weekly, Lazy Susan is named after the archetypal lazy susan turntable, which found its first use in restaurants in Palo Alto and San Francisco in the 1970s. Aspiring to be the premium Chinese take-out concept , Lazy Susan’s menu features cook-to-order classics such as Orange Chicken, Beef with Broccoli, and Chow Mein, available both as family-style entrees as well as a combo-style ‘Lazy Plate’.
Hanson Li, co-founder of Lazy Susan, added “Our goal is to uplift the humble and often disregarded Chinese favorites like orange chicken and chow mein. We aim to bring a new level of convenience and quality to diners across the Bay Area and beyond, and we’re excited to partner with this innovative, local-first micro food hall to help us do it!”
Voted as the ‘Best Food Truck’ by San Francisco Magazine, The Chairman serves up Asian fusion cuisine, specializing in baked and steamed buns, and protein rice bowls, inspired by the bold, spicy and savory street food of Asia. The Chairman menu at Local Kitchens Cupertino and Palo Alto features steamed and baked buns with savory fillings such as Coca-Cola Braised Pork and Karaage Chicken and topped with fresh slaws.
“We love the community we’ve built with our San Francisco fans, and we listened when they said they wanted to access our authentic Asian street food beyond the city limits – Local Kitchens felt like the perfect fit to help us expand,” said Josh Tang, Co-Founder and CEO of The Chairman.
CEO Jon Goldsmith founded Local Kitchens with COO Andrew Munday (his former DoorDash colleague) and CTO Jordan Bramble. Goldsmith and Munday saw the impact that the pandemic had on local restaurants first hand at DoorDash and wanted to use the experience they had gained to help restaurants survive and thrive during an unprecedented time and into the future. When opening their first location in Lafayette, the ‘a-ha’ moment for the team and what was the main traffic driver for guests was the value of mixing and matching from different restaurants. Local Kitchens doubled down and expanded that idea, bringing in different popular restaurant brands to each location. Local Kitchens aims to reflect the diversity of its location and the people within its communities through its curation of its restaurant brand partners. Each location features 5-10 regional concepts and offers easy online and mobile ordering, paired with fast and friendly service, making it a great option for guests on the go, or looking to order ahead. Local Kitchens currently operates six locations in the Bay Area: Palo Alto, Mountain View, Cupertino, Lafayette, San Jose, Los Gatos and a location in Roseville, CA.
“We are thrilled for the opportunity to partner with Tacolicious, Lazy Susan, and The Chairman to further our mission to help local restaurants expand while further diversifying the incredible food options available to our guests.” said Jon Goldsmith, CEO and Co-founder of Local Kitchens. “It is a privilege to work with some of the best food entrepreneurs and brands in the SF Bay Area.”
To date, Local Kitchens has raised $28 million through investors; of which $25 million has come from 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 entered 2022 with a plan for expansion throughout Northern and Southern California. Current locations in development include Campbell, Davis and Novato, CA. Follow @eat.local.kitchens on Instagram and Facebook to stay up-to-date with the latest happenings.
Local Kitchens is a micro food hall for the digital age that brings the best local & regional restaurants together under one roof for convenient takeout & delivery. Ideal for families, foodies, and groups, Local Kitchens licenses the recipes from restaurant brands to offer guests a wide variety of cuisines to accommodate every palette and preference, with seamless online ordering and fast & reliable service. Local Kitchens is on a mission to bring incredible, convenient food options to every neighborhood while helping restaurants grow and build a sustainable digital business. With six locations in the San Francisco Bay Area (Palo Alto, Mountain View, Cupertino, Lafayette, Los Gatos and San Jose) and one location in Roseville, CA, further expansion is planned throughout Northern California, Southern California and across the country. For more information visit www.localkitchens.com.
Launched in 2009 with humble beginnings as a stand at the Thursday Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco, Tacolicous started with founder Joe Hargrave’s love of Mexican cuisine. A trip to Mexico City, visiting countless restaurants and devouring life-changing tacos, Hargrave wanted to bring the flavors back to California. By 2010, Tacolicious opened their first brick-and-mortar and today runs two locations in San Francisco, one in Palo Alto and another in Manhattan Beach. The menu boasts a variety of innovative starters, salads and tacos such as the fan-favorite vampiro with griddled pepper jack, carne asada and roasted-tomato salsa.
Chinese take-out, the food that Lazy Susan serves, embodies the duality of being Chinese and American. After evolving for more than 150 years, Lazy Susan celebrates this unique cuisine rooted in Chinese cooking with American ingredients and palette. Like the journey of Chinese-Americans in this country, this cuisine is often under-appreciated and disregarded. It’s time to put the spotlight back on this beloved cuisine! Lazy Susan co-founders Hanson Li and Tiffany Yam designed dishes for how we live today – delicious food without compromising on convenience, health, or price. As a first gen immigrant from Hong Kong (Hanson) and someone who grew up in her parents’ Chinese restaurant in Pittsburgh PA (Tiffany), they welcome you to Lazy Susan.
The Chairman started serving up its hot buns as a San Francisco food truck in 2010 and is leading the great culinary leap forward, using secret recipes from the Little Red Cookbook. Inspired by the original street food of Asia, The Chairman offers bold, spicy, savory and addictive steamed and baked buns with the freshest ingredients. Voted as ‘San Francisco’s premier food truck’ by Maxim, 7×7, SF Weekly, Thrillist and more, The Chairman is masterminded by chef Hiroo Nagahara who wanted to bring techniques from high-end restaurants to the masses through a food truck.
