Miami-based Reef Technology Inc. plans to operate a ghost kitchen out of a Folsom Boulevard building that has seen multiple uses over the years, including as a live music venue and bar, barbecue joint and Mexican restaurant.
The ghost kitchen operator signed a lease for the location at 7042 Folsom Blvd., which is on the outskirts of the California State University Sacramento campus. Reef filed plans with the city in December to conduct an interior remodel of the 4,200-square-foot facility to convert it into a ghost kitchen, a project valued at $200,000, according to public records.
Ghost kitchens are commercial kitchens set up to prepare meals for delivery only, sometimes under multiple restaurant brands. The ghost kitchen industry has taken off during the pandemic, as restaurants were forced to limit their dine-in service and more consumers ordered home-delivered meals.
Mark Engemann, a commercial real estate broker with Colliers who worked on the lease, confirmed that Reef is the new tenant.
Reef says on its website that it is the largest operator of parking real estate and delivery kitchens in North America.
The company operates using a licensing model with restaurant chains and food providers, and provides staffing on-site that includes trained professionals and chefs, according to its website. Some of its partnering restaurant brands listed on its website include Capriotti's Sandwich Shop, Wow Bao, Wayback Burgers, Firenza Pizza, Grubstake Diner and Papa Murphy's.
Representatives of Reef did not respond to a request for comment from the Business Journal.
The Folsom Boulevard location was most recently 916 Mexican Restaurant & Sports Bar. Prior to that, it served as a Fahrenheit 250 barbecue restaurant, as well as a live music venue throughout the 1990s and 2000s that hosted local and national acts, under the names The Cattle Club, Bojangles and The Library.
