Ghost kitchens (also sometimes called cloud kitchens, dark kitchens, or virtual kitchens) are also only available online, but they don't work in an existing restaurant. They often don't have any physical counterpart. Instead, they are left without space leased to a third party. Are you wondering what a virtual kitchen is? A virtual kitchen, also known as a ghost kitchen, is a restaurant that eliminates the option of eating at the restaurant for diners and focuses exclusively on off-site sales channels.
Under a virtual kitchen concept, a virtual kitchen works only as a home delivery, and some offer takeaway options. While they can reduce costs such as real estate and labor, the process for the customer is essentially the same as if ordering at any restaurant. Customers contact the company through the restaurant's website, app, or phone, or through a third-party delivery application. A virtual kitchen is an exclusive delivery concept that allows restaurants to open an additional restaurant using existing kitchen and staff.
Virtual brands help restaurants increase sales and reach new customers without increasing operating costs. Finally, if you already offer home delivery at an existing restaurant, you should also track your ghost kitchen as a separate location. A ghost kitchen may be a more conducive environment for generating sales data on new menu items that you can analyze to detect other changes in the menu. As restaurants adapt to changes in consumer behavior driven by sales data and the increase in delivery services, ghost kitchens may be here to stay.
Ghost kitchens provide restaurant operators with the equipment and space needed to prepare their meals at a much lower cost than opening a physical restaurant. They provide infrastructure and software that allow ghost kitchen brands to open exclusive delivery establishments with minimal capital and time expenditure. A Ghost Kitchen is a professional kitchen facility that exists for chefs and restaurant operators to launch a virtual brand that only offers home delivery. For example, Kitchen United offers brands not only a commercial kitchen space, but also other resources and business intelligence to make them successful.
Next, we'll discuss questions about Ghost Kitchen's costs, benefits and financial projections so you can better understand if it's a good fit for your restaurant group. All virtual kitchens operate in commercial kitchen spaces, under the same licenses and food safety regulations as restaurants. If you already have an established concept, a ghost kitchen can be a tool for adapting to changing trends and exploring new sources of income. From hosting a well-known brand in their kitchen to creating their own virtual brand from scratch, restaurants of all types and sizes can launch virtual kitchens to generate incremental revenues and expand their delivery area while using their existing operations.
With a ghost kitchen, you'll be able to reach more customers than ever, from a single kitchen. To reach customers from their ghost kitchen location, virtual brands will partner with companies such as Grubhub to reach hungry diners and market their virtual brands. As restaurants adapt to changes in customer dining preferences, ghost kitchens are now more popular and often more profitable.
