Ghost Kitchen Orlando thrived during the pandemic and it's getting ready to expand

Florida Foodie

The pandemic was a trying time for people across the food service industry, but Jay and Johnny Nartowicz and their partner Colton O’Dwyer ended up opening the right business at the exact right time.

They opened Ghost Kitchen Orlando in February 2020, just weeks before COVID-era restrictions started taking effect.

“It was very strange timing because it was almost like we were building this business just for COVID because all the restaurants were shutting down,” Johnny Nartowicz said. We were planning the idea back in October of 2019. So, yeah, four or five months later COVID hit — all the restaurants shut down and we were planning this delivery pickup-only restaurant for five months.”

Ghost Kitchen Orlando went on to be a success during the pandemic, especially with its heat-and-eat meals, but as the world began to reopen their lunch and catering business became the focus. Because of that, the team decided to expand into a brick-and-mortar location.

The first Bricks & Bowls location opened in the Mall at Millenia in 2022.

“The way people are eating is changing and there’s a lot of really bad processed food out there,” Jay Nartowicz said. “And so we want it to be wholesome, nutritious — we don’t want to come across as super healthy. We have a really good balance. We have a lot of superfoods and then we have a lot of indulgent foods and wholesome foods.”

The restaurant offers sandwiches served on focaccia bread along with a variety of bowls featuring proteins, grains and vegetables. The Millenia location has served as a testing ground for the concept and now it is going to expand.

“We had to go from pickup and delivery only to now having a full storefront with staff interacting with customers,” Johnny Nartowicz said. “It’s completely different. So it’s definitely been a learning curve but we feel it’s been (a) proof of concept over the past two years and we’ve really kind of nailed it and are excited to open this new store in Winter Park.”

For Johnny Nartowicz and O’Dwyer, opening a store in Winter Park is something of a homecoming, as the pair met while attending Rollins College.

“Winter Park is cool for us because where we’re opening is like 100 feet from where we graduated,” O’Dwyer said. “We’re going to have a couple exclusive offerings. We’re going to have focaccia pizza, which is baked actually using our focaccia bread, and we’re gonna have beer and wine, as well as some seltzers and things like that.”

The new restaurant is set to open at 331 S. Park Ave. by the end of April, no official opening date has been set.

On the latest episode of Florida Foodie, the trio talked about their plans to expand their businesses further. They also share their favorite sandwiches with Lisa Bell.

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