DoorDash opens new food hall and kitchen at big San Jose shopping center
DoorDash has opened a new food hall and kitchen at a busy San Jose shopping center.
SAN JOSE — DoorDash opened on Monday a new food hall and kitchen at a busy San Jose shopping center, a concept that appears to offer fresh ways for people can order food and dine.
The new dining and food delivery center is now open and operating at The Plant, a big restaurant and retail center in San Jose just south of the city’s downtown.
“In the last few months, we have seen 21 businesses open their doors for the very first time in our downtown,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said. “I’m excited to see DoorDash Kitchens join them to provide even more food options for our residents.”
The new food hall will be able to accommodate deliveries, food pick-ups and in-restaurant dining, DoorDash said.
Local, regional and national food and beverage merchants are offering their items at the food hall and kitchen.
Aria Korean Street Food, Ivan’s Chicken Shokudo, Koi Palace, Little Spoon, Nekter Juice Bar, Plentiful, Sweet Street, The Melt and Academic Coffee food or drink items were available on Monday.
Milk Bar was slated to open soon. Academic Coffee is available only at the site. Souvla will use the San Jose Plant site to offer its frozen Greek yogurt outside of its existing San Francisco location for the first time.
“We happened to be walking by and went in there,” said Kush Bands, a San Jose resident who ordered from the new DoorDash food hall while he and his wife were visiting The Plant. “It looks great in there and the employees seem to be very nice.”
Customers have the ability to order from a remote location and pick up the food or eat it at the food hall, or go into the food hall and place an order for dine-in or take-out.
“They have a lot of employees in there who can help you with your order,” said Dee Bands. “We had to customize our order and they were able to take care of that.”
The new DoorDash food hall and kitchen at The Plant is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., the tech platform for food prep and deliveries said.
Long-time merchants appeared to see the DoorDash food hall concept as a way to open up new vistas and venues to reach customers.
“We’re excited to be able to serve the residents in San Jose for the first time, which has now been made possible through our partners at DoorDash Kitchens,” said Willy Ng, Founder of Koi Palace.
DoorDash opened a temporary pop-up kitchen location at San Jose’s Westfield Oakridge shopping mall. That endeavor helped provide them with insights about the San Jose market.
“We’re eager to continue partnering with restaurants to help them grow their business in an innovative way while connecting customers with dining options they might not otherwise have been able to enjoy,” said Ashlee Tran, head of new restaurant models for DoorDash.
San Jose officials hope this new operation will help bolster the efforts to revive the San Jose economy in the wake of the coronavirus.
“As we continue to get San Jose back to the basics, I am confident this momentum will grow and we will see more businesses and residents establish roots in our city center,” Mayor Mahan said.