Restaurants Are Jumping Ship From Uber Founder’s Ghost Kitchen
CloudKitchens pitches itself as a lower-risk, lower-cost way to start a food business. Operators say the company failed to meet its obligations.
Many independent restaurant owners who turned to ghost kitchen services such as CloudKitchens during the COVID-19 pandemic are now struggling to keep their businesses alive due to a lack of safety and technical support, according to a report by Insider. CloudKitchens was launched in 2016 and promised to transform warehouse spaces into delivery-only restaurants, known as cloud kitchens, at a lower cost than a traditional restaurant. However, the report claims that many of these kitchens have lacked basic sanitary facilities, such as bathrooms and working sinks, and have been plagued with technical issues that have made it difficult for customers to place orders. Operators have also reported security and safety issues, including burglaries, arson, and physical altercations. Many restaurant owners have struggled to profit due to the high rent costs and CloudKitchens’ 3% cut from every order.
The original article is “Restaurants Are Jumping Ship From Uber Founder’s Ghost Kitchen.”