Aloha Poke Adds Ghost Kitchen in Fort Lauderdale

Aloha Poke, a fast-casual poke restaurant concept, launched its first ghost kitchen operation in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This concept allows Aloha Poke to introduce the brand’s high-quality food and sustainable sourcing practices into the South Florida market.

Aloha Poke's addition of a ghost kitchen comes as as other restaurant brand are looking to creative ways to boost the bottom line. Restaurants are leveraging ghost kitchens, dark kitchens and virtual brands. At Restaurant Next, Wow Bao, CEC Entertainment and Brinker International shared their innovative approaches. Just last week, Nathan's Famous announced it was expanding into Canada via partnerships with ghost kitchens. 

Aloha Poke’s menu of fresh, protein-packed, sashimi-grade fish and mostly raw ingredients are available via third-party delivery platforms like UberEats, Grubhub and Doordash. Ghost kitchens have gained popularity for a unique build-out model offering restaurant brands a way to bring their food offerings to more people, test market viability, and attract potential brick-and-mortar franchisees.

“Ghost kitchens are an interesting, turnkey solution to bring the Aloha Poke fast casual concept to a larger population of people in the largest urban areas of the country,” said Paul Tripodes, VP, Franchise Development. 

Based in Chicago, Aloha Poke currently operates 19 locations in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Florida, and Washington, D.C.