PBS star and restaurateur Vivian Howard launches Viv’s Fridge

By Submitted Story on June 28, 2022

Vivs’ Fridge menu items (Credit: Baxter Miller)

The standalone smart refrigerators will offer 24/7 access to prepared family meals, snacks and desserts. 

Chef Vivian Howard, star and co-creator of the PBS shows, “A Chef’s Life” and “Somewhere South,” has launched Viv’s Fridge, a smart refrigerator that will offer prepared family meals to enjoy at home. The first Viv’s Fridges will be available 24/7 at locations in Kinston, Bald Head Island and Emerald Isle, N.C.

Fans of Howard, who has restaurants in both North and South Carolina, will be able to purchase restaurant-quality entrees, snacks, sides and desserts in a convenient ready-to-eat or heat-and-eat format. Among the offerings: Vivian’s Spiced Pecan Pimento Cheese; Butterbean Hummus with Bread and Butter Squash Pickles; Tomato Pie; BBQ Blueberry Chicken Enchiladas; Beef Short Ribs braised in red curry watermelon and served with gingered cabbage and banana-leaf wrapped coconut rice grits; a 10-layer Chocolate Cake, and more. Prices range from $30-$75.

The first Viv’s Fridges have been installed on Bald Head Island, N.C. outside Noonie Doodle Sweets & Treats (6 Maritime Way) and will launch in Kinston, N.C. outside Chef &The Farmer (120 W. Gordon St.) by July 1. A third location will soon follow in Emerald Isle, N.C.

“Viv’s Fridge was born out of a desire while I was on my own family vacations to not have to cook or dine out every night. I wanted delicious food with less effort and expense. That’s why the first Viv’s Fridges will be located in North Carolina vacation destinations or along the way to them,” Howard said. “These last few years made me take a hard look at my restaurant operations. I realized my business would be more sustainable if we were less dependent upon the limited number of hours our restaurants are open. As a cuisine-driven restaurant, I wanted to expand our reach without expanding our footprint.”

Howard’s long-term vision will be to add additional locations and to offer not only her own food but meals created by other notable North Carolina chefs. To learn more about Viv’s Fridge, go to vivsfridge.com or follow on social media, Instagram: @vivs_fridge and Facebook: facebook.com/VivsFridge/.

ABOUT VIVIAN HOWARD: Vivian Howard is an award-winning chef, cookbook author and television personality with restaurants in North and South Carolina. Her restaurants include: Chef and The Farmer, in Kinston, N.C., which will reopen in the fall 2022 after renovations; Benny’s Big Time, a Wilmington, N.C. pizzeria; Handy + Hot, a bakery and coffee shop in Charleston, S.C.; and Lenoir, a casual upscale restaurant also in Charleston, S.C. She is a six-time semifinalist for James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef Southeast. Howard’s television shows include: “A Chef’s Life”, a five season docu-series that celebrated the food traditions of eastern North Carolina and won Peabody, Emmy and James Beard broadcast awards; and “Somewhere South,” a limited series that premiered in 2020 on PBS stations nationwide. Howard has written two cookbooks, “Deep Run Roots,” a New York Times bestseller that took home four awards from the International Association of Culinary Professionals, and “This Will Make It Taste Good.”