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A virtual restaurant (also known as a ghost kitchen or dark kitchen) is a food service business that serves customers exclusively by delivery and pick up based on phone and online ordering. It is a separate food vendor entity that operates out of an existing restaurant's kitchen. By not having a full-service restaurant premise with a storefront and dining room, virtual restaurants can economize by occupying cheaper real estate. The reduced space lowers overall overhead and operational costs, thus yielding higher profit margins without reducing the price of the food provided. The ghost kitchen's lack of a retail presence allows for multiple restaurants and brands to buy into it.


Background

Virtual restaurants gained significant cultural and economic currency during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
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. 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 Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases r ...
restaurants recoup their losses and minimize employee layoffs by allowing them to prepare food for multiple brands and keep themselves in business. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the growth of the ghost kitchen industry by five years within three months in 2020. Ghost kitchens and the food delivery possibilities they provide are key factors in the continued success of many restaurants. By 2030, this acceleration of growth could lead to the emergence of a $1 trillion market. Virtual restaurants are set up within existing restaurants, allowing businesses to cut costs by sharing space. 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 Grubhub Inc. is an American online and mobile prepared food ordering and delivery platform. The company is based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 2004, it is a subsidiary of the Dutch company Just Eat Takeaway since 2021. Grubhub has been crit ...
,
Uber Eats Uber Eats is an online food ordering and delivery platform launched by Uber in 2014. Meals are delivered by couriers using cars, scooters, bikes, or on foot. It is operational in over 6,000 cities across 45 countries as of 2021. The process of ...
,
Postmates Postmates is a food delivery service, founded in 2011, and acquired by Uber in 2020. It offers local delivery of restaurant-prepared meals and other goods. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California. , Postmates operates in 2,940 U.S. c ...
and
DoorDash DoorDash, Inc. is an American company that operates an online food ordering and food delivery platform. The company is based in San Francisco, California. It went public in December 2020 on NYSE and trades under the symbol DASH. With a 56% m ...
to deliver food to customers. However, some companies also incorporate their own delivery system into the business model. A typical virtual restaurant location is able to accommodate the preparation of several different types of cuisines. 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 culinary foods and convenience, often locally or close to them. Virtual restaurants have become popular during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the increase in social distancing and work-from-home policies. Uber Eats has helped launch over 4,000 virtual restaurants around the world.


Types

Some examples of virtual restaurants include Pasqually's Pizza & Wings which operates out of
Chuck E. Cheese Chuck E. Cheese (formerly known as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza and simply Chuck E. Cheese's) is an American family entertainment center and pizza restaurant chain founded in 1977 by Atari's co-founder Nolan Bu ...
, Wing Squad which operates out of Buca di Beppo, Neighborhood Wings which operates out of
Applebee's Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain. The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salads ...
, It's Just Wings which operates out of
Chili's Chili's Grill & Bar is an American casual dining restaurant chain. The company was founded by Larry Lavine in Texas in 1975 and is currently owned and operated by Brinker International. History Chili's first location, a converted postal statio ...
, and The Wing Experience and The Burger Experience which operate out of
Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill Darden Restaurants, Inc. is an American multi-brand restaurant operator headquartered in Orlando. As of January 2022, the firm owns two fine dining restaurant chains: Eddie V's and The Capital Grille; and six casual dining restaurant chains: ...
. In 2020, rapper
Tyga Michael Ray Nguyen-StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson ...
partnered with
Robert Earl Robert Earl (born 29 May 1951) is an English-American businessman who is the founder and CEO of Planet Hollywood, Chairman of the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, and host of ''Robert Earl's Be My Guest'' television program whic ...
and Virtual Dining Concepts to launch a series of virtual restaurants called Tyga Bites which is delivered only through Grubhub and operates out of existing restaurants' kitchens.


Function

The lack of a physical brand 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. 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.


Criticism

Ghost restaurants have been criticized for their unpleasant working conditions and cramped, windowless kitchen spaces. Several 2015 news articles found some "ghost restaurants" operated as unregulated, unlicensed standalone entities or as "fronts" for restaurants that may have health code violations. In the United Kingdom, restaurant operators
The Restaurant Group The Restaurant Group plc is a British chain of restaurants and public houses. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The company was founded by Matthew Brown from Chatteris in 1987 as City Centre Restaurants plc with the objective of ...
and
Casual Dining Group Casual Dining Group (CDG), formerly Tragus Group, operated 250 restaurants in the United Kingdom. CDG operated restaurants primarily under the Bella Italia, Café Rouge and Las Iguanas names. It also operates sites under the Belgo, Huxleys, Ori ...
were criticised 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.


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. * Burger Den and Melt Down are ghost kitchen brands owned and operated by
Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some of the locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,700 restaurants in many countries. Description Originally opened as a Diner, coffee shop un ...
. * Conviction Chicken is a ghost kitchen operated by
TGI Fridays TGI Fridays (operating in the UK as FRIDAYS) is an American restaurant chain focusing on primarily American cuisine and casual dining. The restaurant's founder said the name stood for "Thank God It's Friday", although some television commercial ...
. * Cosmic Wings is a ghost kitchen operated by
Applebee's Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain. The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salads ...
. * Dockside Charlie's, Coop & Run, and Underground Chuck's are ghost kitchens operated by O'Charley's. * Fresh Set, Chicken Sammy's, and The Wing Dept. are ghost kitchens operated by
Red Robin Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., more commonly known as Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews or simply Red Robin, is an American chain of casual dining restaurants founded in September 1969 in Seattle, Washington. In 1979, the first franchised ...
. * It's Just Wings and Maggiano’s Italian Classics are ghost kitchens operated by
Chili's Chili's Grill & Bar is an American casual dining restaurant chain. The company was founded by Larry Lavine in Texas in 1975 and is currently owned and operated by Brinker International. History Chili's first location, a converted postal statio ...
. * Pasqually's Pizza & Wings is a ghost kitchen brand owned and operated by
Chuck E. Cheese Chuck E. Cheese (formerly known as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza and simply Chuck E. Cheese's) is an American family entertainment center and pizza restaurant chain founded in 1977 by Atari's co-founder Nolan Bu ...
. * Rotisserie Roast is a ghost kitchen operated by
Boston Market Boston Market Corporation, known as Boston Chicken until 1995, is an American fast casual restaurant chain headquartered in Golden, Colorado. It is owned by the Rohan Group. Boston Market has its greatest presence in the Northeastern and Midweste ...
. * Slo Roast is a ghost kitchen operated by
BJ's Restaurants BJ's Restaurants, Inc. is an American restaurant chain, headquartered in Huntington Beach, California. Some locations feature microbreweries that supply beer to other locations in the chain. The chain operates under the names BJ's Restaurant & ...
. * Tender Shack is a ghost kitchen operated by
Outback Steakhouse Outback Steakhouse is an American chain of Australian-themed casual dining restaurants, serving American cuisine, based in Tampa, Florida. The chain has over 1,000 locations in 23 countries throughout North and South America, Asia, and Australia ...
. * Thighstop is a ghost kitchen operated by
Wingstop Wingstop Inc. is an American multinational chain of aviation-themed restaurants specializing in chicken wings. Wingstop locations follow a 1930s and 1940s pre-jet aviation theme. The restaurant chain was founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas ...
. * Thrilled Cheese and Super Mega Dilla are ghost kitchens operated by IHOP. * Twisted Tenders and Embers BBQ are ghost kitchens operated by
Logan's Roadhouse Logan's Roadhouse is a chain of casual dining restaurants based in Houston, Texas, United States, founded in 1991 in Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. There are 135 Logan's Roadhouse locations throughout twenty-two states. The chain uses retro style ...
. * Hootie’s Burger Bar, Hootie’s Bait and Tackle, and Hootie’s Chicken Tenders are ghost kitchen brands owned and operated by
Hooters Hooters is the registered trademark used by two American restaurant chains: Hooters, Inc., based in Clearwater, Florida, and Hooters of America, Inc. based in Atlanta, Georgia, and owned by the private investment firm Nord Bay Capital (with ...
. * Wow Bao, Wingville, and Macaroniville are ghost kitchens operated by
Fazoli's Fazoli's is an American fast casual restaurant chain headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1988 and is now owned by FAT Brands. As of November 2021, there are 220 Fazoli's located nationwide. The restaurant chain specializes in ...
. *
MrBeast Burger MrBeast Burger is an American virtual restaurant founded and developed by internet personality Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast), in partnership with Virtual Dining Concepts, LLC. There are virtual locations in North America and Europe, with plans to e ...
is a ghost kitchen brand mostly running out of Buca di Beppo,
Bertucci's Bertucci's is an American chain of restaurants offering pizza and Italian food. It also offers delivery (from some stores), take-out and private dining. Bertucci's was founded by Joey Crugnale in Davis Square, Somerville, Massachusetts, in 1981 ...
, and Bravo! Italian Kitchens, but any restaurant can apply.


See also

*
Concession stand A concession stand (American English, Canadian English), snack kiosk or snack bar (British English, Irish English) is a place where patrons can purchase snacks or food at a cinema, amusement park, zoo, aquarium, circus, fair, stadium, b ...
*
Food truck A food truck is a large motorized vehicle (such as a van) or trailer, equipped to cook, prepare, serve, and/or sell food. Some, including ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food; others have on-board kitchens and prepare food from scratc ...


References

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