The benefits of Wake Forest’s new ghost kitchen concept
Flavor District officially opened on Jan. 18, 2023, in Wake Forest. WRAL News spoke to the owner and local vendors about how the ghost kitchen concept is helping restaurants make money during the pandemic. The new venue has multiple restaurants in one central location. Families can order from various restaurants in one order for both pickup and delivery, with only one delivery fee.
The food available ranges from BBQ and pizza to Mexican and Jamaican cuisine.
David Foye, the owner of Flavor District, came up with the idea during the pandemic when restaurants closed and several food truck owners and caterers were losing business.
“You can reduce overhead costs by 2/3 by operating out of here, so we’re sharing the facility space,” Foye said.
Ghost kitchens are meant for cooking in a delivery-optimized kitchen designed to cut unnecessary costs.
Since the pandemic, many food truck vendors have switched to this concept. For Jeffery Groce, owner of Oink and Moo, one of the vendors at Flavor District, Ghost Kitchens are optimal.
“With the pandemic, we learned a lot of people don’t necessarily want to sit in dining, but they want quality food,” Groce said.
Groce, who’s been operating Oink and Moo out of a food truck since 2018, said the model is way better than opening a space for his restaurant.
“If you were to start a brick and mortar with a new lease building utilities, staffing, equipment, it adds up,” Groce said.
Vendors who would like to operate out of Flavor District can apply, but Foye informed WRAL News there is a waiting list for vendors to move in.