The Rise of Ghost Restaurants

Not familiar with the concept of a ghost restaurant? Also called ghost kitchens, virtual kitchens, or dark kitchens, this concept is rising in popularity and changing the landscape of the food industry.

What is a Ghost Restaurant?

Simply put, ghost restaurants are delivery-only eateries. There are no seats, no servers, and no storefronts. With the rise in third-party food delivery, the popularity of this concept isn’t really that surprising, and ghost restaurants are ready to take the food industry by storm.

The Benefits of a Ghost Kitchen

In recent years, consumers have shown an increasing preference for delivery, rather than a traditional sit-down meal. Customers, especially those of a younger generation, enjoy eating their favorite restaurant food from the comfort of their sofas. Why stop your Netflix marathon midway to run to the store or a restaurant—or worse yet, cook dinner? With ghost kitchens, you don’t have to.

Ghost restaurants are essentially large kitchens, where food is prepared solely for delivery. Besides eliminating underutilized space, there are plenty of other benefits to the concept of a delivery-only restaurant.

Easily Update Ghost Restaurant Information

Because the presence of your ghost kitchen is solely online or via an app, you can easily change menu items, concepts, and hours of operation without having to update signage or printed materials.

Operate within Limited Space

You don’t need a large space to operate your ghost kitchen because you’re not seating customers. Your labor costs are also lower, and you’ll spend less on startup fees, as you don’t need to buy as many supplies to support in-person dining or a full waitstaff.

More Opportunity for Growth

The traditional restaurant business model calls for high upfront investments and large overhead costs. This makes growth difficult when you’re just getting started. With lower overhead, ghost kitchens offer ample room for growth.

Ease of Management

Because ghost restaurants require less money and fewer staff members to get started, they are easier to manage. For traditional restaurants, advertising and notoriety are large investments. Ghost kitchens allow you to partner with third-party delivery services that are already well-established, leading to faster recognition.

Time will tell if the trend of online-only restaurants has the potential for longevity, but it’s definitely something to pay close attention to. Given that food delivery is only growing in profit, chances are we’re going to see ghost restaurants continue to grow in popularity.