Yet most produce the food in their individual stores. It's true that the food may be fresher if it's produced there, but say you've made 5 gallons of soup in the morning, and have 3 gallons left at the end of the day. Fresh Fields Whole Foods Market, the Austin, Texas-based gourmet supermarket chain, has taken that advice seriously. In Chicago, a single production kitchen handles food preparation work for a dozen area Whole Foods stores. Among other things, the facility will be able to produce about 50,000 pounds of hummus and 30,000 gallons of soup a month.
Central kitchens can enhance profit on smaller scale as well.
New York-based Hale and Hearty's has made soup the centerpiece of its business.