Finance:Ghost restaurant
A ghost restaurant (also known as a delivery-only restaurant or online-only restaurant) is a food service business that serves customers exclusively through online food delivery. Without the need to interact with customers directly on the premises, ghost restaurants can offset the high cost of a delivery system with cheaper real estate and operations. Although restaurants typically earn more from customers who dine at the restaurant, due to the expense of operating a delivery service or the fees charged by third party delivery companies like Grubhub and Caviar, ghost restaurants have significantly lower overhead. Operating a dining room, with the real estate it requires, staff, amenities, insurance, and other expenses, is a significant cost.[1] Even restaurants with considerable to-go business traditionally dedicate the majority of their space to seating.[2] As visibility, curb appeal, foot traffic, and accessibility are not concerns, the kitchen can be housed in an inexpensive location that would not typically be considered desirable for a restaurant.
A single company may operate several ghost restaurants, and a single location's kitchen and staff can function as multiple branded restaurants.[3] Without a brick-and-mortar location to renovate, companies can also try out new brands and cuisines with little effort, to appeal to changing tastes and trends.[3][2]
Most of the restaurants utilize existing delivery services. For example, Green Summit, which owns several ghost restaurants in New York City and partners with Grubhub.[2] Some companies incorporate their own delivery system into the business model, like the New York-based company Maple.[2][4] Maple, which is backed by restaurateur David Chang, is able to orient its business around productivity in terms of meals per hour per kitchen — a metric more typical of fast food restaurants.[4]
Several 2015 news articles exposed a sub-segment of operations they termed "ghost restaurants", which operate as unregulated, unlicensed standalone entities[5] or as fronts for restaurants that might or might not have health code violations.[6]
References
- ↑ Chamlee, Virginia (September 30, 2016). "Are Virtual Restaurants Dining's Next Hot Trend?". Easter. https://www.eater.com/2016/9/30/12988932/delivery-only-restaurants-munchery-ando-foodcheri.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Ungerleider, Neal (January 20, 2017). "Hold The Storefront: How Delivery-Only “Ghost” Restaurants Are Changing Takeout". Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/3064075/hold-the-storefront-how-delivery-only-ghost-restaurants-are-changing-take-out.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Eisenpress, Cara (February 21, 2016). "Behold 'ghost restaurants': Order online, but don't try to show up for dinner". Crain's. http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20160221/HOSPITALITY_TOURISM/160219856/these-ghost-restaurants-could-spell-the-death-of-traditional-restaurant-delivery.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kessler, Sarah (March 21, 2016). "How Maple Built An Insanely Efficient, Chipotle-Crushing Food Delivery Machine". Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/3057405/how-maple-built-an-insanely-efficient-chipotle-crushing-food-delivery-m.
- ↑ Thompson, Elise Thompson. "Have You Missed Starry Kitchen’s Balls? Us Too. Uber Eats is Here to Save Us All!". http://thelosangelesbeat.com/2015/07/have-you-missed-starry-kitchens-balls-us-too-uber-eats-is-here-to-save-us/. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
- ↑ Glorioso, Chris & Givens, Ann & Stulberger, Evan (November 11, 2015). "LOCALI-Team: Restaurants Use False Identities on Food Delivery Websites". NBC News (New York). http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Seamless-Restaurant-Grubhub-Fake-Eatery-Unregulated-Kitchen-Investigation-I-Team-New-York-City-344708652.html.
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