Federal Donuts, Goldie to join Whole Foods restaurant row

Doughnuts, fried chicken, falafel, and vegan shakes are in, while noodles and vegan sandwiches are out.

Federal Donuts and Goldie, two brands from the hometown CookNSolo Restaurants, will set up kiosks in November at Whole Foods Market's year-old store at 21st Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. They will replace Cheu Noodle Bar and Wiz Kid, whose last day will be Sunday, Oct. 22.

FedNuts will take Cheu's space and, preserving the vegan state, Goldie will take Wiz Kid's.

The move solidifies the grocer's affiliation with Steve Cook and Michael Solomonov, who now operate a Dizengoff stall, specializing in hummus, in the store's restaurant row. The store's fourth kiosk is a casual Italian-themer from Severino Pasta Co.

Federal Donuts, founded in 2011, will sell its doughnuts and Korean-style fried chicken but not its coffee. Goldie, which opened its first location in Center City last spring, is a vegan falafel shop serving fried falafel, fries, and tehina milkshakes, a Middle Eastern counterpart to Dizengoff's hummus and pita menu.

The owners of Cheu and Wiz Kid had said the setup in the store was challenging, with a shared prep room located at the other end of the store from the restaurants. Having three restaurants from one operator should solve most territorial issues.

CookNSolo also operates Zahav, Abe Fisher, and Rooster Soup Co.