A virtual restaurant in Columbus, Ohio in 2020

A virtual restaurant, also known as a ghost kitchen, cloud kitchen or dark kitchen, is a food service business that serves customers exclusively by delivery and pick-up based on phone and online ordering.[1] Virtual restaurants are stand-alone businesses that either operate out of an existing restaurant's kitchen or from a separate kitchen set-up away from a restaurant.[2][3][4] By not having a full-service restaurant with a storefront and dining room, virtual restaurants can economize by occupying cheaper real estate.[5][6] The reduced space lowers overall overhead and operational costs, thus yielding higher profit margins, as the price of the food provided is typically not changed.[7] The virtual restaurant's single kitchen format allows for multiple brands to share kitchen space.[2][8][9]

Background

With the rise of urbanization and an increasingly busy lifestyle, the demand for food delivery services has surged, resulting in a shift from traditional dining experiences to ordering food online.[10][11] Virtual restaurants gained significant notice during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when many restaurants were either completely idled due to restrictions on public dining, or curtailed significantly as very low numbers of patrons were permitted to be served on-premises even as the situation recovered.[12] At the same time, demand for home delivery of food expanded as people were required to stay at home. Ghost kitchens helped brick-and-mortar restaurants recoup their losses and minimize employee layoffs by allowing them to prepare food for multiple brands and keep themselves in business.[13]

Virtual restaurants are set up within existing restaurants, allowing businesses to cut costs by sharing space.[8] Virtual restaurants also save money by avoiding dine-in service through reliance on delivery service. Virtual restaurants rely on their own delivery drivers or third-party delivery apps such as Grubhub, Uber Eats, Postmates and DoorDash to deliver food to customers.[2][3][14]

A typical virtual restaurant location is able to accommodate the preparation of several different types of cuisines.[15][16] The strategy of having multiple brands and cuisines can target a broader range of customers. Food can be prepared by specialty chefs or any range of cooks. Virtual restaurants are intended for people looking for professionally-cooked food with the convenience of local delivery.[6]

Function

The lack of a physical location allows companies to experiment with new menus, brands, and concepts with ease and low risk. Menus can be adjusted to match current trends or target multiple demographics with a variety of cuisines.[13] The online nature of ghost kitchens makes it possible for virtual restaurants to track customer data and analytics through the food ordering process and make data-driven decisions. They can track the popularity of items, wait times, and customer feedback via ratings and adjust their menus accordingly.[6]

Criticism

Ghost restaurants have been criticized for unpleasant working conditions, cramped and windowless kitchen spaces, and acting as fronts for other restaurants.[17][18][19]

In the United Kingdom, restaurant operators The Restaurant Group and Casual Dining Group were criticised in 2019 over a lack of transparency regarding virtual restaurant brands. The companies were found to be operating several virtual brands which sold similar or identical food to their more popular high-street brands.[20][21]

List of associated chain restaurants

Several virtual restaurant brands have associated brick-and-mortar locations. The following are virtual restaurants known to use ghost kitchens.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Shieber, Jonathan (November 2018). "The next big restaurant chain may not own any kitchens". TechCrunch. Verizon Media. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Isaac, Mike; Yaffe-Bellany, David (2019-08-14). "The Rise of the Virtual Restaurant". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2022-01-18. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  3. 1 2 "Wing Squad Introduces Delivery Only Restaurant Concept". EatSeattle. 2020-02-06. Archived from the original on 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  4. ↑ Coley, Ben (July 2020). "Chuck E. Cheese is Serious About Pasqually's Pizza & Wings". QSR magazine. Archived from the original on 2020-07-13. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  5. ↑ Holmes, Mona (May 23, 2018). "Here's Why a Lot of Delivery Food Isn't Coming From Actual Restaurants The incubators are like WeWork for the restaurant industry". Eater Los Angeles. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 27 May 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 Chamlee, Virginia (September 30, 2016). "Are Virtual Restaurants Dining's Next Hot Trend?". Eater. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  7. ↑ Ungerleider, Neal (2017-01-20). "Hold The Storefront: How Delivery-Only "Ghost" Restaurants Are Changing Takeout". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 2019-06-01. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  8. 1 2 King, Danny (2020-05-06). "'Ghost' kitchens scare up business as restaurants grapple with social-distancing impact". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2021-01-15. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  9. ↑ Olson, Alexandra (September 28, 2022). "The rise of 'ghost kitchens': Here's what the online food ordering boom has produced". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  10. ↑ Ahuja, Kabir; Chandra, Vishwa; Lord, Victoria; Peens, Curtis (22 September 2021). "Ordering in: The rapid evolution of food delivery". McKinsey & Company. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  11. ↑ Fizpatrick, Sarah (March 2021). "The rise of dark kitchens". Norton Rose Fullbright (in German). Archived from the original on 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  12. ↑ "Struggling foodservice brands must embrace dark kitchens, says GlobalData". GlobalData. 2020-08-10. Archived from the original on 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  13. 1 2 "Food Theory: MrBeast Burger Is NOT What You Think..." YouTube. The Food Theorists. January 9, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-04-17. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  14. ↑ Jennings, Lisa (2020-01-31). "Planet Hollywood founder Robert Earl builds virtual restaurant empire of delivery-only brands". Restaurant Hospitality. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  15. ↑ Turow-Paul, Eve (March 24, 2017). "That Restaurant On Seamless Might Not Actually Exist". Forbes. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2019. if you have a 6,000 square foot kitchen you can make very high-quality food and have many different styles of cuisine coming from the same kitchen.
  16. ↑ Channick, Robert (March 27, 2017). "9 restaurants, 1 kitchen, no dining room". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing Company. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2019. Butcher Block, Milk Money and Leafage share the same address, chefs and owner.
  17. ↑ Harris, John (2018-10-09). "Are dark kitchens the satanic mills of our era?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
  18. ↑ Glorioso, Chris; Givens, Ann; Stulberger, Evan (November 11, 2015). "Restaurants Use False Identities on Food Delivery Websites". NBC News. New York. Archived from the original on November 23, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  19. ↑ Butler, Sarah (28 October 2017). "How Deliveroo's 'dark kitchens' are catering from car parks". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  20. ↑ Lott-Lavigna, Ruby (January 23, 2019). "Why Are Chain Restaurants Using Different Names on Delivery Apps?". Vice Media. Archived from the original on 2020-12-05. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  21. ↑ Beardsworth, Luke (2019-06-28). "Restaurants accused of lacking transparency over 'virtual brands'". LancsLive. Archived from the original on 2021-11-27. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  22. ↑ Ruggless, Ron (13 January 2021). "Denny's to offer Burger den, Melt Down virtual brands". Nation's Restaurant News. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  23. ↑ Durbin, Dee-Ann (February 17, 2021). "Delivery-only restaurant brands see pandemic-fueled growth". ABC News. Archived from the original on February 17, 2021.
  24. ↑ Tyko, Kelly (February 17, 2021). "Cheetos-flavored wings are now a thing from new online concept Cosmic Wings via Uber Eats". USA Today. Archived from the original on July 13, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  25. ↑ Pomranz, Mike (19 May 2020). "Applebee's Side Hustle Restaurant Appears on Delivery Apps as 'Neighborhood Wings'". Food & Wine. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  26. ↑ Dominko, Mura (18 June 2021). "This Beloved Southern Chain Has Launched Two New Fast-Food Brands". Eat This, Not That. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  27. ↑ Hamstra, Mark (10 March 2021). "Red Robin Gourmet Burgers rolls out three virtual restaurant brands nationwide". Nation's Restaurant News. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  28. ↑ Poiuso, Pailo (11 February 2021). "The Surprising Restaurant Chain Guy Fieri Is Operating Ghost Kitchens Out Of". Mashed. Archived from the original on 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  29. 1 2 3 4 Lucas, Amelia (2021-09-06). "The new restaurant that just delivered dinner could be a spinoff of one of these popular chains". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2021-12-08. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  30. ↑ Garcia, Tonya (2020-08-14). "Chili's parent says its weeks-old virtual chicken chain It's Just Wings will soon be a $150 million brand". MarketWatch. Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  31. ↑ "The Truth About Ruby Tuesday's New 'Libby's BBQ' Menu". Mashed. 2021-07-15. Archived from the original on 2023-07-17. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  32. ↑ Conrad, Marissa (February 25, 2021). "You've Heard of Ghost Kitchens. Meet the Ghost Franchises". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  33. ↑ Lee, Alicia (22 May 2020). "Some chain restaurants have turned to food delivery apps but they're hidden behind different names". CNN. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  34. ↑ Haddon, Heather; Rana, Preetika (2021-03-28). "Those Cosmic Wings You Had Delivered? They're Really From Applebee's". Morningstar. Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  35. ↑ Wiener-Bronner, Danielle (21 June 2021). "There's a chicken wing shortage. So this chain wants you to start loving thighs". CNN. Archived from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  36. ↑ Coley, Ben (March 7, 2022). "IHOP Transforms into Sophisticated Digital Company". FSR magazine. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  37. ↑ Bilyeu, Jack (2023-03-14). "Ghost kitchens on the rise in Memphis". WHBQ-TV. Archived from the original on 2023-03-19. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  38. ↑ "Logan's Roadhouse Owner Launches Virtual Chicken Tenders Concept". FSR magazine. December 16, 2020. Archived from the original on July 17, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  39. ↑ Guszkowski, Joe (15 March 2023). "After 90 years, Primanti Bros. is still evolving". Restaurant Business Online. Archived from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  40. ↑ Ferguson, Christa (2021-02-22). "Ghost kitchens bring Chicago's Wow Bao to West Michigan". woodtv. Archived from the original on 2021-03-06. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  41. ↑ Coley, Ben (April 12, 2021). "Why Fazoli's is One of the Pandemic's Restaurant Winners". QSR magazine. Archived from the original on July 13, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  42. ↑ "Fazoli's Launches New Chicken Wing Concept 'Wingville'". QSR magazine. September 28, 2020. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
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