In 2015, an investigation found some existing restaurants in NYC being listed under different names on food delivery apps such as Seamless and Grubhub. Many of these listings also had kitchens that did not have restaurant permits to sell food directly to customers. This led the apps to take down these ghost kitchen listings. But later on with new regulations in place the idea opened new doors for the restaurant industry.
Ghost kitchens made it convenient for existing restaurants to save up money spent on tables and chairs, crockery and cutlery, signboards, interior design works, staffing and rent. Companies such as CloudKitchens, Franklin Junction, Reef Technology etc rent out spaces to businesses to prepare food for delivery. Struggling restaurants can even rent out portion of their kitchen to other restaurants as well.
There are some concerns about the quality of the food and how customers are missing out on the full dining experience. Also how this model may negatively impact the jobs of many in the service industry.
Youtube star Mr. Beast opened 300 locations of his Mr. Beast Burger chain using the delivery-only model where existing restaurants partnered with him to make and deliver his recipes in return for a percentage of the sales.
As more people move their shopping habits online, restaurant owners only need a kitchen space to set up a new location without the hassle of finding an ideal location or worrying too much about how to drive up sales.
For an industry that operates on thin margins, ghost kitchens provide a much needed lifeline.
