Wendy’s To Open 700 Ghost Kitchens by 2025 With Start-up Reef
Wendy’s announced Wednesday it will open 700 ghost kitchens across the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada by 2025 through a partnership with start-up Reef Technology.
Also known as virtual, cloud, or dark kitchens, ghost kitchens are meant to address the demand for off-premise restaurant dining. The facilities fulfill delivery orders placed through third-party delivery apps like DoorDash. In Reef’s case, companies say they help restaurants cut costs by using less labor and square footage and being in less desirable locations — like parking lots.
Wendy’s CEO Todd Penegor told analysts Wednesday that its U.S. business saw digital sales dollars grow more than 10% in the second quarter.
Wendy’s and Reef piloted eight ghost kitchens in Canada before making this development plan. The companies expect to open roughly 50 ghost kitchens this year.
“If you look at the economics, it’s early to tell what we can do from sales out of each of those vessels, but we’re expecting the sales in the range of $500,000 to $1 million per unit,” Penegor said.
The original article is “Wendy’s to open 700 ghost kitchens by 2025 with start-up Reef.”