PASADENA, Calif., March 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Culinary on
demand startup Kitchen United today announced that Meredith Sandland will join the company as Chief
Operating Officer, effective March 5,
2018. Sandland most recently served as Chief Development
Officer for Taco Bell, a division of Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) with
7,000 locations and $10 billion in
system sales. In this role, she added more than $1 billion in sales to the system through the
addition of 1,000 restaurants in just four years. Sandland will be
responsible for driving revenue and overseeing Kitchen United's
business strategy, operations and national rollout plan.
"I'm incredibly excited to welcome Meredith to Kitchen United's
leadership team. She embodies the strong business instincts, deep
knowledge of the industry, extensive leadership and passion that
will drive our mission forward," said Kitchen United CEO
Jim Collins. "We have ambitious
goals for 2018, and the addition of Meredith will enable us to help
restaurant operators and independent food professionals expand
their footprint and integrate seamlessly with delivery operations
by using our turnkey back of house infrastructure."
Sandland joins former McDonald's executive Atul Sood and celebrated restaurateur and SBE
Entertainment leader Massimo Noja De Marco, who will serve as
Kitchen United's Chief Business Officer and Chief Culinary Officer,
respectively. Sood will spearhead administrative, financial, and
operations management. De Marco will drive all aspects of food
development for Kitchen United's culinary partners. Kitchen United
is led by Chief Executive Officer Jim
Collins, founder, owner and operator of Town Kitchen and
Grill in Montrose, CA, a 100-seat
new American restaurant that recently made the list of 10 best new
American restaurants in Los
Angeles.
"I am thrilled to join Kitchen United at this pivotal time in
the evolving restaurant industry landscape," said Kitchen United
Chief Operating Officer Meredith
Sandland. "I have tremendous respect for Kitchen United's
powerful mission to help restaurants thrive with off-premise dining
and will focus on delivering value for our existing partners,
attracting new ones and growing our brand."
Kitchen United was spun out of Cali Group, the holding company
behind Miso Robotics' burger-flipping robot, Flippy, and the first
application of facial recognition technology in U.S. restaurants
that allows consumers to pay with just their faces, who invested in
both rounds of the company's financing. Last month, Kitchen United
introduced its new center of culinary imagination and excellence
with the opening of its first facility in Pasadena, Calif. The 12,000 sq. ft. fully
equipped kitchen space leverages technology, including integrated
point of sale software, back of house automation, and efficient
order interfaces that combine inbounds from various delivery
platforms, to enable new levels of efficiency for food businesses.
The facility will be used by regional and national food and
restaurant brands to produce fresh food solely for the purpose of
takeout, catering and delivery.
Kitchen United also provides kitchen space that can be rented by
the hour to food truck operators and catering firms in need of
licensed preparation space, as well as by entrepreneurs seeking to
develop new food products or restaurant concepts.
Editor's Note:
Full bios and headshots of Kitchen
United leadership team available here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ptfehhuh4gse6f2/AADdOq9WGxyWIxy5F0Iu8bqqa?dl=0
About Kitchen United
Based in Pasadena, Calif., Kitchen United is on a
mission to evolve the ecosystem for food enthusiasts and restaurant
operators. Their back-of-house infrastructure empowers food
businesses to innovate, dream, and grow. For more information visit
www.kitchenunited.com.
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SOURCE Kitchen United