Inside the business of ghost kitchens: ‘It’s a streamlined service.’
Ghost kitchens, virtual or dark kitchens, are commercial kitchens that operate solely to prepare and deliver food through third-party delivery platforms such as Uber Eats and DoorDash. These kitchens are becoming increasingly popular as the global food delivery business has tripled in value since 2017, reaching a value of $150bn. Ghost kitchens enable restaurateurs to reduce the cost and risk of opening a traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant, as they do not require a storefront or seating area, and the upfront capital costs are lower.
Ghost kitchens allow restaurant owners to experiment with different cuisines and branding without committing to a physical location. In Canada, the number of businesses opening virtual kitchens doubled after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, from 3% to 7%, and an additional 8% of operators said they are considering opening a virtual kitchen within the next five years. The ghost kitchen model is expected to grow in popularity as the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift toward food delivery, and the trend is expected to continue post-pandemic.
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