LA Times/TimesOC New Ghost Kitchens Story

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If you’re seeing a lot more ghost kitchens on the online delivery sites lately, you might not have noticed that some aren’t actually “ghosts”. 

 

These are the brick-and-mortar restaurant chains who list themselves under a different name on the apps in the hopes of “catfishing” you into ordering rearrangements of their existing menu items. 

So in my latest piece for TimesOC story, I decided to hunt down three of the newest real “ghosts” and tell their stories. 

They include the first foray into entrepreneurship for an amateur Cajun seafood cook, a seasoned Korean food executive looking to start his own brand, and an established Central American fried chicken chain discovering an opportunity to penetrate more markets. 

CLICK THIS LINK TO READ IT!

Lechon Kawale from Kiko's - Artesia

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The auntie who took my order at Kiko’s misheard me. 

“Tita,” I told her, pointing at my receipt. “I actually wanted only a half pound of lechon kawale, not a pound.” 

But as she squinted at my credit card slip, I saw a sad look on her face. 

“You know what, that’s okay,” I said. “I’ll take the full pound, but please give me extra sauce.” 

She brightened instantly. 

As she packed an extra container of sauce and handed me the order, she said, “Don’t worry, you’ll finish it all.”

“That’s exactly the problem,” I thought to myself.

Kiko's Lechon Manok

18915 Norwalk Blvd. 

Artesia, CA 90701