Inside The Ghost Kitchens
The ghost kitchen concept
A ghost kitchen, also known as a cloud kitchen or dark kitchen, is a virtual restaurant that does not have a physical space for customers to dine in. Instead, these restaurants only prepare food for delivery and pick-up in a commercial kitchen. Customers typically order from a ghost kitchen through a third-party delivery app, and the delivery service delivers the food directly to the customer’s location. Ghost kitchens can operate outside pre-existing restaurant chains while posing as local brands on the delivery app. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the popularity of ghost kitchens, as they offer a non-contact way for restaurants to continue serving customers during the pandemic. In 2019, only 15% of U.S. restaurants operated ghost kitchens, which rose to 51% in 2020.
Ghost kitchens have faced criticism for their lack of transparency on delivery apps, as they often only list the address of the food brand and not the name of the commercial facility where the food is prepared. This can make it difficult for customers to know where their food comes from and check if the virtual vendor complies with health regulations. There are also concerns that ghost kitchens may be able to avoid public scrutiny over low health inspection ratings by using different names on delivery apps. Some restaurants in Austin have stopped using ghost kitchens since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, while others have continued to operate them. Austin Public Health has stated that its inspectors have not seen any trends of non-compliance with ghost kitchens compared to traditional dining locations.
Austin case
GhostLine Kitchens is a commercial kitchen facility in Austin, Texas that rents out private and shared kitchen workspaces to food vendors. The facility is 17,500 square feet and has 44 kitchen workspaces, transaction windows that allow vendors to interface directly with drivers and an outdoor dining area for customers who choose to pick up their food. GhostLine Kitchens is transparent and aims to dispel the myth that all ghost kitchens are unsanitary. CEO Shalou Barth emphasized the importance of building brand awareness, providing good customer service, and maintaining high food quality for ghost kitchen businesses to be successful.
The original article is “Inside the ghost kitchens haunting Austin’s restaurant industry.”