Digital Food Hall OOMI Aims to Revolutionize Ghost Kitchens

OOMI Digital Kitchen is a multi-brand ghost kitchen that recently debuted on Ross Avenue. It’s a streamlined one-stop shop for a spectrum of culinary concepts.

Before heading over you’ll want to order online. The offerings include everything from breakfast burritos to chicken sandwiches to pad Thai. You’ll receive a QR code via text when your food is ready. Then pop in, scan your code at the kiosk, and a transparent locker in the wall known as an OOMI box will unlock your trove of calories. No personal interaction. Just grab-n-go.

Or you can relax at home and have your order brought to your door.

OOMI is applying this same concept to densely trafficked office blocks and apartment complexes where OOMI boxes (in select locations) will be set up.

The focus is ultra-convenience without sacrificing quality, and a varied menu offers a diverse range of options. It’s a centralized food hub where you’re not tied to one specific cuisine or brand. Dallas-based Which Wich, Hot Lips (Asian street fare), Flyrite (chicken sandwiches), Bowlrito (burrito bowls) and Urban Taco are among your choices.

You can mix and match different concepts on the same ticket. If you’re ordering in a group, there’s always a nitpicker or two going against the grain. But here, there are plenty of alternatives to appease everyone.

We dropped in recently to experience OOMI in person. You can’t dine in. All you’ll find is a small pickup area with seven neon-lit OOMI boxes and a single kiosk. Through the see-through lockers, you can peer into the 2,250-square-foot kitchen. We scanned our QR code and voila: our locker unlatched and there was our meal. Pretty cool. Order in hand, off we went.

First, we tried the Cowboy Chicken Sandwich ($9.95) from Austin-based Flyrite. It’s spicy, crispy chicken drizzled in “Hoss” sauce with bacon, cheddar and fresh chopped jalapeños on a toasted bun. It’s not the biggest chicken sandwich in the world, but the flavor was good. The spice level from the batter in combination with the jalapeños was within the sweet spot range. And the sauce was a plus.

The Philly Steak ($8.75) from Which Wich was next: melted provolone on thinly sliced sirloin topped with caramelized onions and sautéed bell peppers.

We rounded out our order with the Caracas Road ($13) from Bowlrito. A generous bowl of poblano green rice, tender barbacoa, Manchego cheese, black bean corn pico, pickled onions, julienne carrots and sweet peppers was served with a side of salsa roja.

Breakfast is available here as well.

Having established sound partnerships with Texas- and locally-based brands and emphasizing convenience and high quality, it’s not difficult to envision success here with enough traffic.

3510 Ross Avenue, No. 100. Monday – Sunday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.