Ghost Kitchens

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Iron Mountain Refrigeration Equipment

• Ghost Kitchens Pleasant Prairie

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Ghost Kitchens

• The food delivery business is booming now, more
  than ever. The convenience of food delivery is a
  time-saver, money saver, and hunger satisfier.
  Some food delivery can be completed on an app
  allowing you to order the best meal from your
  favorite restaurant quickly and easily. This is
  called a ghost kitchen. Ghost kitchens are simply
  kitchens with a delivery application instead of a
  take-out application.
• In short, it is a kitchen owned by an entity to
  make a profit from food delivery without actually
  being there for delivery, as if the kitchen isn't
  really serving customers at all. The food ghost
  kitchen delivers to UberEats or GrubHub customers
  but actually serves no one through their own app.

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Whats a ghost kitchen?

• Ghost kitchens are essentially restaurants
  without the dining space. Their focus is to sell
  and fulfill online food orders for delivery using
  third-party apps like Grubhub, UberEats, and
  DoorDash, or with their own delivery operation.
  As a result, they typically have no visible
  storefront. A ghost kitchen makes a preparation
  system for food delivery and takeout.

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Whats a ghost kitchen?

• With that being said, there are a few common ways
  ghost kitchens can be structured. Many
  restaurants that don't have a physical location
  outsource to ghost kitchens. This way, they can
  continue doing business without having to invest
  in an additional storefront or delivery fleet.
  They simply pay for their orders, and the rest is
  completely outsourced to the kitchen.

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Using a shared commissary space

• These ghost kitchen facilities will have the
  infrastructure and equipment needed for food
  preparation, but won't typically deliver your
  food. Instead of deliveries, they serve as a
  shared commissary for several restaurants or
  various online food delivery services. This
  allows these restaurants to still offer the full
  menu from their actual kitchen without having to
  pay an additional fee or charge.

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Launching virtual spin-off brands

• Some kitchen owners start a second business that
  operates with its own identity but is operated
  through the kitchen. They have two distinct
  websites and may even have an app with their food
  ghost kitchen name on it. This way they can
  franchise their kitchen to others while keeping
  control of all operations.

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Opening multiple delivery locations

• There are also people who create multiple kitchen
  locations. They have a physical kitchen, but it
  doesn't serve any customers. Instead of profit
  from the kitchen itself, they make their money by
  delivering meals to homes and businesses using
  Grubhub, UberEats apps, or with their own
  delivery business under these platforms.

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Renting out restaurant kitchens

• A kitchen owner might rent out their space as a
  ghost kitchen. This is where the kitchen does not
  do business, but someone else operates it as if
  they are another restaurant with their own staff
  and menu. The kitchen has its own infrastructure
  but doesn't serve any customers at all.

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Investing in delivery technology

• There are kitchen owners who decide to invest in
  delivery technology and take a percentage of each
  order. They place their kitchen's name on the
  application, but they do not deliver your food.
  Instead, they contract with other kitchen
  facilities to serve orders placed through their
  system that they can also sell through
  third-party apps.

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The Food Delivery App boom

• In 2017, UberEats alone had over 1 billion in
  sales, and DoorDash grew by 106 percent. In 2020,
  UberEats revenue was nearly 4.8 billion and
  voted as the best food delivery service
  internationally. The United States currently has
  the second-largest market and is the most well
  funded.

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Ghost Kitchen basics

• How do the apps work? Once you order your food
  online/ through an app, it's sent to a kitchen
  facility via GPS technology. They receive your
  order and prepare the food for delivery. The
  kitchen then sends someone to deliver the food to
  your home or business. They are always the ones
  that deliver and hand the food off, but not
  always the kitchen that prepares it. Kitchen
  ghosting is very common because it requires
  little investment compared to traditional
  restaurants. You don't need a large staff, dining
  room, or even a storefront if you do
  delivery-only business. This makes kitchen
  ghosting common on college campuses and in areas
  where rent is high and space is limited.

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Ghost Kitchen basics

• How much does kitchen ghosting cost? Whether you
  have the kitchen or someone else does, there will
  be a base price for food distribution services
  via these apps. Other costs may include kitchen
  rental, employees, kitchen supplies, and
  additional delivery costs.

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Ghost Kitchen platforms

• There are many food delivery platform apps out
  there these days. The following are the main ones
  used for kitchen ghosting food delivery -
  UberEats Virtual Kitchen - Deliver For You,
  DoorDash, KitchenVine, Food Assembly. Some of
  these kitchen facilities don't just rely on
  Grubhub, DoorDash, and UberEats for their kitchen
  ghosting business. They may also do it themselves
  and under brand names that are not affiliated
  with kitchen platforms.

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Pros and cons of ghost kitchens

• Here are a few of the pros and cons that both
  restaurant owners and their customers can expect
  from ghost kitchens.
• Pros of Kitchen Ghosting
• You can open up a business without the hassle
  and cost of traditional restaurants. You don't
  have any overhead costs, you can hire part-time
  employees, rent inexpensive kitchen spaces, and
  only serve customers who order through an app.

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Pros and cons of ghost kitchens

• Kitchen ghosting can also be more profitable
  than traditional restaurants. Since you don't
  have to buy inventory or take orders from
  customers, your kitchen business has the
  potential to make a lot of money with few
  expenses.
• You can open up delivery locations wherever you
  want and still allow for many kitchen employees.
  This allows kitchen owners to hire kitchen staff
  who either can't work in a restaurant kitchen or
  want flexible schedules.

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Pros and cons of ghost kitchens

• Kitchen ghosting provides you with more kitchen
  options. You can choose from any one of many
  different kitchen venues that are already
  supplied and set up, rather than having to find
  an ideal home kitchen on your own. You also have
  kitchen staff who are already trained and kitchen
  equipment that is ready to be used.

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Pros and cons of ghost kitchens

• Cons of Kitchen Ghosting
• Kitchen ghosting can come with challenges.
  Kitchen ghosting can put a kitchen into hot water
  with state agencies if they are not properly
  registered as kitchen facilities.
• Kitchen ghosting is not always profitable for
  kitchen owners. Fees are charged to kitchen
  ghosters, because of this many kitchens these
  days aren't making any profit from their
  business. Many kitchen owners make less than
  minimum wage and are doing kitchen ghosting to
  supplement their income.

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Pros and cons of ghost kitchens

• Kitchen ghosting can be difficult for kitchen
  owners to manage. Kitchen ghosters may not have
  the same amount of kitchen or customer service
  experience as traditional restaurant owners. When
  things go wrong, it may be hard for kitchen
  ghosters to fix them without the experience of
  running a kitchen and providing customer service.
• Kitchen ghosting can be unreliable in terms of
  income. Kitchen ghosting shifts may not always go
  as planned, which means kitchen workers may
  sometimes earn less than expected or have to
  cover kitchen staff shortages by working longer
  hours themselves.

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How to become a Kitchen Ghoster?

• How to become a Kitchen Ghoster? Kitchen ghosting
  facilities often rely on word-of-mouth to grow
  their business. Kitchen owners may also use
  third-party websites such as Craigslist Kitchen
  to find kitchen workers and potential customers.

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How to become a Kitchen Ghoster?

• How much should you charge? Kitchen facilities
  will usually charge you a minimum amount per
  order, which is typically somewhere between
  5-10. Kitchen ghosting facilities may also
  charge a kitchen fee, which usually ranges
  between 3-10 per kitchen. Kitchen ghosting
  facilities will also pay delivery fees and a
  commission to the workers who complete
  deliveries, which vary depending on location and
  how many times you work in one kitchen facility.