NYC appetites may have been a little too ravenous for Goop Kitchen.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s buzzy, wellness-driven delivery concept opened its first New York location this week — but abruptly paused Friday, according to a post on Instagram.
“NYC — due to technical difficulties, we are closed for the time being,” the company wrote. “Pre-orders will go out as scheduled. Thank you for your patience. We will be back soon!”
According to reports, the main culprit is a facility-wide internet outage — that knocked the falafel wrap flogger offline.
The West Coast transplant is just one of several vendors operating out of the Picnic ghost kitchen at 245 W. 46th St., near Times Square.
A Goop brand representative told The Post they were experiencing an outage — and that their obligation to fulfill pre-orders was preventing the kitchen from processing any new orders today.
Staff on-site at the so-called “digital food court” confirmed the disruption — and said they hoped service would resume later today.
In the meantime, a few happy customers could still be seen trickling in to pick up pre-ordered meals, snapping photos of their stylish white and green shopping bags.
The snafu comes less than a week after the long-awaited New York debut — its first expansion outside California.
Today’s mishap underscores a vulnerability in the business model of restaurants like Goop Kitchen, which depend on ghost kitchens to operate.
Unlike traditional restaurants, these facilities, which house multiple restaurant brands, rely on app-based ordering. The goal is efficiency and economy — but things can unravel quickly, when connectivity issues come into play.
Even before the outage, there were early signs of strain.
The Post attempted to place a large pre-order earlier this week around noon, only to be met with a 3:30 p.m delivery window. At one point, the wrong order was sent to the paper’s Rockefeller Center offices.
According to Goop Kitchen staff, the fulfillment system caps the number of orders it can handle per hour, so even if demand surges, it won’t exceed that threshold. Leaning in harder to the notion that when something is limited, it creates even more demand.
“Our team is working around the clock to serve as many guests as possible, and demand has been exceptionally strong,” Goop’s brand rep wrote in an email, who also recommends placing pre-orders as far as 24 hours in advance, which seems counterintuitive in a city that thrives on being fast-paced.
The Midtown location, which focused on delivery only, was the first of a planned wider rollout in the city, according to Eater.
Since launching in Los Angeles in 2021, the brand has been built around clean eating and relying heavily on the idea that their meals are intended to survive the chaotic world of delivery.
Something crucial in New York City, where bike couriers and long transit times can make or break a delivery experience.
But that premise is under stress. For a brand built on carefully curated and premium positioning, even a short-lived shutdown is subject to scrutiny.
Despite today’s undercooked delivery, the overall response has been mixed due to high prices and inconsistent execution, as the Post previously reported.
For now, Goop Kitchen says it will be back soon, but even the short disruption could leave a bad taste.
Read the full article here