PORTLAND, Ore. — They’re rolling out a new concept at the old Grand Central off Southeast Morrison.
“A lot of times when you're working at home all day, you kind of need a break … And so people want to get out and go run an errand,” said John Plew, CEO of Concept Entertainment Group (CEG).
CEG has rebranded the Grand Central location as Central Bowl, Arcade, and Food Hall. The idea has been in the works for over a year, but the pandemic made them ramp up their timeline.
“When we first started thinking about the concept, we started with virtual, but it's really not virtual. So we really call it an online food hall,” Plew said. “We'll have six concepts going out of one kitchen, and we're pretty excited about that,” said Chef Keith Castro.
Castro is Plew’s business partner and the head chef at Central Kitchen. He touts the high-end food and unpretentious service.
“Just getting it ready and get to be creative. I mean, who doesn't want to be creative, it's so much fun,” Castro said.
Wings, burgers, Mexican and southern style cuisine are among the concepts. The way it works is you place a mobile order and the POS system in the kitchen sorts it efficiently for the cook staff.
“When the order comes in,” said Castro. “Something that takes a long time, let's say it's a fried chicken dish. It'll take 10 or 15 minutes. That's going to go first, and the other stations won't even see the salad until it gets closer to being done and complete, then that pops up. So the idea is that all the food comes up in the window all at once.”
Central Kitchen will open on October 6, with a soft opening this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
“(Opening) the dining room and then the bowling and arcades is really up to the municipality of when we get to phase two,” said Plew.
When they do get there, seating will be spaced apart, and John and Keith hope that Central Bowl, Arcade and Food Hall will become a place that brings friends and families together.
“I think that people wanted an opportunity to go out and have fun,” Castro said. “Enjoy it and do so responsibly. So we'll give them that opportunity.”