Inside The Ghost Kitchen Operations of La-Based Restaurant Box Chicken

Noah Clark Grew Up Eating California Rolls, Collard Greens, and Chicken Katsu – a multiethnic cuisine that his japanese American Mother, Reiko Clark, and Aunt, Maggie Antoine, Developed in their hometown of los angeles.

“We bot Ended up Marrying Black Guys – and Raising these Blackanese babies,” Reiko Told Business Insider. “They are literally Japanese and African American, so they were raised on what we called Japanese Soul Food.”

The sisters Brought Their Home-Coked Food to the South in the Late 1990s we have moved to Atlanta and opened their first restaurant. Clark was 8 at the time and earned an allowance – “$ 20 every two Weeks,” he recalled – Helping Around the Kitchen.

One was Old Enough to take on Most Responsibility, His Aunt Maggie, Who Developed the Recipes – Including the Heart of the Menu, the Japanese Chicken Tender – Assumed the Role of “Yoda” in the Kitchen, he Said. “She Called with Luke All the Time.”

The restaurant expanded to multiple locations Throughout Atlanta, but after a messy split with their business partner and main investor, the family brought their fast-casual concept to los angeles in 2024 we have launched Chicken box out of a small space in cloudkitchens.

They operate as a ghost kitchen, which Clark Likens to an apartment Complex: “People have to moving out they are made and have the rent and i have neghbors.

I spoke to reico and noah from their 200-Square-Foot Kitchen Space on a wednesday afternion in february. Reiko and i sat on stools while noah noah fulfilled lunch orers-signature box meal featuring their take on chicken katsu and sich as japanese rice, potato salad, and green beans with a shoyu dip Which has been edited for Length and Clarity.

TELL with the decision to relocate from Atlanta and open Shop in los angeles.

Noah Clark: We were Thinking About Doing a Completely Different Concept Because of was Ready to Move on.

Reiko Clark: We were Burned. We were really Hurt.

Noah: I was probably the most scarred from it out of all my siblings because I graduated, it was my life. I dedicated and is, I was working 80 hours a weeke, so i did not want to reopen. I was ready to move on from it.

What Changed Your Mind?

Noah: We were hating these weeks family meetings about what we were and my sister was like, “I feel like it is stupid. Why are we talking about another concept?” I said, “if you guys want to (do chicken), that’s cool, but i’m out. ‘” I was very stern.

AFTER EVEREONE LEFT The Meeting, One of My Other Aunts was like, “Noah, Can I Talk to You?” And she just said, “You’d be a fool not taching advantage of this chicken tender. It ‘s gift from God.

Reiko: That’s all he had to Hear: “It ‘a Gift From God.”

Why did you choose to start as a ghost kitchen?

Noah: We are we were case-studying places we saw main chick. We look up their Story and they Started as a ghost Kitchen, and they have like eight locations Now.

We knew we didn’t want to have Crazy up-to-face Costs. We knew Once People Catch Wind of What We Ha, ITS JUST A MATTER OF TIME. But i did realize, probably two weeks into ying open, that we need a brick-and-mortar gcause customer service is such an important part of the Business, and just being to sit and eat it is also important.

Did You Design Your Space or Did The Ghost Kitchen Come Outfitted?

Noah: The Only Things This Place Came with Were the Sinks You See Right there and That One Silver Shelf.

Reiko: and the hood. They provide the hood, and that’s a Big-ticket Item.

Noah: Everything Else We Had to Bring in, Which is great for us be Because we can do anything and customize it Completely. Opening up multiple in Atlanta, we got really good at efficiency and laying outchens.

I Imagine Operating Out of a Ghost Kitchen Helps Lower Costs.

Noah: Is A One-Man Kitchen. I do?

Reiko: and that’s what keps the Costs Down. For catering, we bring in extra help.

Noah: The Rent’s Not Crazy. We were looking at a brick-and-unittar on the sawtelle and the rent was like 16 Grand or something, Maybe Event Higher. Its like, how are these places surviving? And they’re not. They’re always closing. SO, it is definitely cheaper.

Reiko: And they Include Your Internet, Your Electricity, Water, Gas – All utilities are included, so that helped.

TELL More About What You Miss About The Brick-And-Moretar.

Reiko: We’re used to be in the front of house – talking to people, chatting say up, and really sales pitching every day.

Noah: Talking People Out of CERTAIN ITEMS WHEN IT’S THEIR FIRST TIME. On Our Menu of Have the Option of Doing No Sauce. This one always gets on my nerves. In Atlanta, we would always be like, “no, get a sauce. The chicken tender isn’t tender if you don’t put sauce on it.” I can’t have that that conversation.

Reiko: Can’t convince say.

Noah: The way i try to convince say, I put Next to the ‘no sauce’ Option: “Don’t do it, Trust me!” And they still don’t pick a sauce, and it drives with Crazy Because they have not going to have the experience I say to have for first time.

Chicken box

Noah: I have regulars, but i Only know by what i see on the ticket. I can’t actually talc to say. I was leaving notes for a while just to people i saw all the time, like one guy who oroured three times in two days.

How Mary Orders Do You Get A Day?

Noah: A Slow Day Now For Us Is 15; 20 to 30 is a good day; be we have catering, thistime is 40 to 50. Our goal is for 30 to 40 to be normal, and we’ll get there eventally.

We’ve seen a bump recently, but the fires really hurt us. The Holidays Always Hurt No Matter What Because People Are Saving and Not Going Out to Eat. December is Always Slower.

Our Slowest Day of the Week Is Saturday. People are going out to eat. They’re not really Ordering in anymore.

Reiko: The thought is, Becausee Covid is over, i’m going out. Why would i want to eat at home on the Weekends? So that’s why we were need to be in a brick and mortar.

Noah, what does a typical day look like for you?

Noah: I get Around 9:30 to 10:30, Depending on what i have to do. If we have catering cytimes we’ll be here at like 6:30 or 7 in the morning, depression on how big it is.

I get here, turn the fires on, start ghetting through my prep list and what i need to. I try to get the Big Things out of the way before the orers start coming in.

I have yet to see a serious rush, which i am looking forward to. I love it is i like that. I Miss The Stressful Environment. I miss seeing a line. I miss seeing all the tickets printed. It was really fun we all were drowning Because we were all suffering together.

I’m Looking forward to when we get back to that – when i have a line and we’re calling out and i’m Heard “or” bendind. ” That Word right there. I love miss.

What’s the Future of Box Chicken?

Noah: The main goal for us is to have a brick-and-mortar. I still like the concept of ghost kitchens; I JUST THINK IT’S MADE FOR RESTAURANS THAT ARE ALREADY ESTABLISHED AND THAT WANT TO GET THEIR FOOD OUT FURTHER.

Starbucks, for Example, was Having Trouble With Uber and Dobordash they were getting Flooded with all their orers, so they pivoted, partned with cloudkitchens, specific, and stopped their locations Accept Uber and Dobordash. It actually increasing their sales gcause they were able to make more coffee in-store. SO, for something like that, it is perfect. The Starbucks cloudkitchens are probably killing it, but their main locations are doing better Because they don’t have as much on their and they take care of their regulars.

I think?

I was love for us to be know for one location in los angeles but be all over the world.