St. Louis-based rootberry, which makes and sells prepared plant-based meals, shareable, salads and desserts, is expanding operations at its headquarters with the addition of a ghost kitchen.
The ghost kitchen, located at 1147 St. Louis Galleria St., will offer an expanded seasonal menu with hot and cold dishes available for delivery-only. Rootberry's future plans include allowing orders to be picked up on-site. The dishes will be prepared fresh for delivery as orders are placed, and the ghost kitchen menu will be available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Customers can order using delivery apps GrubHub or DoorDash.
"In our first year of serving the St. Louis community, we've made great progress on our mission for more people to enjoy more plants, more often," Marc Connor, rootberry co-founder and president, said in a statement. "And because we know most people decide what they're going to eat within an hour of eating it, our new ghost kitchen serves the desire for spontaneity with dishes prepared fresh from our kitchen that are delivered in an hour or less."
Menu items include panzanella tartine with housemade almond ricotta, marinated tomatoes, arugula, basil and balsamic syrup; a spicy bulgogi bowl with eggplant, cremini mushrooms, kimchi, edamame, pickled cucumber, carrots, and cauliflower fried rice; and bahn mi with hoagie from Union Loafers Café and Bread Bakery, char siu beets, carrots, cucumber, cilantro, radish, pepita and a sweet and sour vinaigrette.
"We've heard people would love a restaurant experience so we're carefully experimenting and exploring all the ways to bring rootberry to life," Connor said. "With a rotation of seasonal dishes, the ghost kitchen's menu allows us to showcase our culinary creativity around plant-based eating."
Rootberry said its growth plans include offering a larger-format catering menu and potentially a full-service restaurant in the future.
Founded in June 2021, rootberry has launched more than 40 plant-based meals, sides, salads and desserts, has grown to offer its products in 25 Dierbergs Markets stores and expanded to a several Kaldi's Coffee and Fields Foods locations. The brand also has its products at several local universities and colleges, including Washington University, Maryville University, the University of Missouri - St. Louis, Logan College and Saint Louis University. Overall, its products are available in more than 50 retail locations.
Since its launch, Rootberry says it year-to-date 2022 sales year have already doubled all sales in 2021 and it hopes to triple revenue over the next year. The startup was a finalist in St. Louis Inno's 2022 Fire Awards.
Rootberry announced earlier this year that it had taken over the former Weber Grill Restaurant space at the Saint Louis Galleria in Richmond Heights. The company has 25 full- and part-time employees.
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