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From boom to bust. This article highlights the rise and fall of Ghost Kitchens. Turns out that the act of dining includes the physical in-person experience we all know and love. 11 years ago in our book, Appetite for Acquisition, I wrote, "Restaurants are the fabric of our culture. The neighborhood restaurant is where we go on our first date, celebrate a promotion, and gather the family to announce our engagement." It's STILL true today. I went on to write, "In a high-tech world (imagine BACK THEN), the restaurant is a high-touch world where we still interact with one another." ✅ Ghost kitchens, supported by significant dollars, celebrity chefs, and restaurant chains, were forecast to be over 20% of the restaurant industry by 2025. Oops - not happening. ✅ Pandemic driven, ghost kitchens, essentially delivery-only setups with no physical dine-in spaces, expanded while traditional dining closed during the pandemic. The consumer was not cooking. ✅ Customer confusion ensued along with disillusioned customers when the local restaurant they thought they were supporting turned out to be a large chain. Not to mention, Uber eats and DoorDash started weeding out duplicates and taking down online digital restaurants operating under separate names with the same menu. ✅ The market shifted and demand for ghost kitchens diminished as we returned to physical dining. Challenges include high delivery fees, lack of transparency, and regulatory difficulties. ✅ Major players in the ghost kitchen market, including The Wendy's Company and Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar are scaling back or shutting down their ghost kitchen operations. The economic model of ghost kitchens, reliant on third-party delivery services and facing operational challenges is not the wonder kid it was predicted to be. In a post-pandemic world, the consumer is still seeking that "high-touch" dining experience I wrote about over a decade ago. #restaurant #restaurants #restaurantindustry #WeSellRestaurants

Another pandemic-era concept has also now run its course. Ghost kitchens. While this concept's overall demand for logistics space was relatively small, it was viewed as a growth opportunity. However, consumers prefer ordering from brick-and-mortar restaurants, the National Restaurant Association found in a survey this year, with 70% of diners saying it’s important for their food to come from a publicly accessible, physical location. The business side of running a ghost kitchen has also been challenging. Ghost kitchens rely on third-party delivery companies to deliver orders. Third-party providers charge fees, which can be as high as 30%. Local health departments have struggled to inspect and regulate ghost kitchens, too. So restaurants have shut down their ghost kitchens, and funding for the concept has dried up. Wendy’s abandoned its ghost kitchen plans earlier this year, Applebee’s folded up Cosmic Wings, and Kalanick’s CloudKitchens laid off its staff this fall. Butler Hospitality, which operated ghost kitchens for the hotel industry, also shut down.

What are Ghost Kitchens, and What is their Future? (STL.News) Ghost kitchens are virtual restaurants that rely on... This News What Are Ghost Kitchens? appeared first on STL.News.

What are Ghost Kitchens, and What is their Future? (STL.News) Ghost kitchens are virtual restaurants that rely on... This News What Are Ghost Kitchens? appeared first on STL.News.

Ever wondered about the future of the food industry? 🍽️ Ghost kitchens could be a game changer. Unlike traditional commercial kitchens, these operations are solely focused on takeout and delivery. They're not designed for walk-in customers or sit-down meals. This new model could revolutionize the way we eat, especially in a post-pandemic world. But what does this mean for the dining experience we've grown to cherish? Let's discuss.

Ghost kitchens were once the hottest trend following the pandemic, and their recent decline spells good news for restaurants. Whereas previously it may have made sense to operate only through delivery apps, the average restaurant customer is much more willing to seek in-person experiences and build relationships during those experiences with skilled hospitality professionals like we strive to do at Happy Joe’s 🍕. #Restaurant #ConsumerTrends #RestaurantTrends

The online food delivery market is exploding. It's projected to reach a mind-blowing $1 trillion by 2023. That's right, trillion with a "T"! This surge in demand is forcing the restaurant industry to adapt, and a new hero is rising from the virtual kitchen ashes: the ghost kitchen. You might be wondering, "What in the world is a ghost kitchen?" A restaurant with no tables, no waiters, and no flashy storefront. All it has is a team of expert chefs whipping up delicious meals exclusively for delivery. That's the essence of a ghost kitchen, also known as a dark kitchen or cloud kitchen. These delivery-optimized spaces are revolutionizing the food industry. It also allows restaurants to tap into the booming delivery market without the hefty overhead costs of a traditional brick-and-mortar setup. These kitchens can operate independently, or even be part of a larger facility housing multiple virtual restaurants. Intrigued by the idea of running your own ghost kitchen? The appeal is undeniable. Lower overhead costs.  The ability to experiment with menus.  Chances of reaching a wider audience. But there's more to the story! Our new blog post will be your one-stop shop for navigating the exciting (and sometimes tricky) world of ghost kitchens. We'll break down...  → What is a ghost kitchen  → Types of ghost kitchens → How to get access to a ghost kitchen → How to start a ghost kitchen  And much more. We will discuss the advantages and challenges you might face as a ghost kitchen owner. Read the full blog here: https://lnkd.in/dP7PzSsN #restaurant #foodandbeverage #restaurantindustry #hospitality

CEO Rishi Nigam sheds light on the demise of the 'ghost kitchen' concept as we've known it. The term, once synonymous with delivery-only, is now an antiquated misnomer. Rishi highlights a crucial point: success in this space was never about being a ghost, but about being seen. Read more about the transformation of the restaurant industry in the insightful piece by Aneurin Canham-Clyne in Restaurant Dive, shedding light on why the ghost kitchen model was destined for change from the outset. https://lnkd.in/ewzbpNqv

A few tips: - Hire a foodservice manager who has restaurant experience. - Strive to ensure the dining room feels distinct from the rest of the space. - Think of parking, if guests may stay for 30 minutes, is there plenty of parking? https://lnkd.in/e_pnH_6y

Ghost kitchens, the commercial kitchens with no dine-in option that became pandemic-era darlings, are beginning to fail, raising questions about whether the industry’s projected boom was a collective CRE hallucination. Kitchen United, a startup that ran delivery-only restaurants and raised $175M in funding, announced last week it would sell or close all of its locations. The company was backed by Kroger and ran its operations from inside the grocer’s stores, at malls and from inside chain restaurants, sharing cooking space.Ghost kitchens were once predicted to make up more than 20% of the restaurant industry by 2025. An even more bullish 2021 projection estimated ghost kitchens could be a $1T industry by 2030. Ghost kitchens fulfill online orders from delivery-service apps like Grubhub and Uber Eats, and several dozen menus can come from the same kitchen. Customers are frequently unaware they are ordering from a restaurant without its own physical location. The distinction is important for consumers, who prefer ordering from brick-and-mortar restaurants. Seventy percent of diners said it is important for their food to come from a publicly accessible, physical location. #dining #cre #restaurants #commercialrealestate