CALGARY HERALD: Chorney-Booth: New ghost kitchens pop-up on the local takeout scene

Pastasloot (pastasloot.com) is another ghost kitchen that grew out of the pandemic, albeit under very different circumstances. Having launched in September, the no-fuss pasta outlet is spearheaded by Mateo Zoto, who normally makes his living running large-scale Instagram influencer accounts. The influencing gig took a hit during the spring pandemic shutdown, so Zoto got together with a few partners to slide to the food production side of the equation. They hired chefs Colin Klassen and Jesse Mackenzie (who have experience working at restaurants like Brasserie Kensington and Bonterra) and set up shop in the Joey’s Restaurants test kitchen, where they whip up easy-to-transport pasta meals like the Juliet pasta with vodka sauce ($16), “Carb Your Enthusiasm” mac and cheese ($14) and cheese-stuffed arancini ($8). It’s all priced to appeal to weeknight diners looking for a quick fix.

While Zoto understands why traditional restaurants prefer that their customers pick up their orders rather than use a delivery app, he says that third-party apps do make it a lot easier for takeout-only businesses to operate, since building a delivery infrastructure from scratch is a lot more difficult and expensive than it may seem. Customers who want to skip delivery can pick up their pasta at the Joey’s kitchen (3048 9th St. S.E.).

“We wanted to offer a premium product but make it recession-proof so people could afford it,” Zoto says. “We want to offer fast, casual pasta that’s high quality but make it convenient and approachable for most people.”

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

https://calgaryherald.com/life/chorney-booth-new-ghost-kitchens-pop-up-on-the-local-takeout-scene