Free Tour: Visit These Different Ghost Kitchen Concepts

Ghost kitchens remain an important part of the foodservice landscape. A trend that skyrocketed during the off-premise dining craze of the COVID pandemic, ghost kitchens are still relevant because they provide benefits for both parties. Consumers gain the ability to order high-quality menu items while retaining the convenience of takeout and delivery, while operators enjoy the profit potential of smaller footprints, expanded menus, and reduced overhead.

Ghost kitchens can work in many applications, from pizza to fine dining, but before we get into the details, let’s review the basics. In brief, ghost kitchens are restaurants that only provide takeout and delivery. The lack of dining space means more cost-effective real estate options with more budget-friendly staffing. They allow for brand flexibility and can adjust menus accordingly. Ghost kitchens can also be strategically located using geographic and demographic data.

As mentioned, ghost kitchens are not going away anytime soon. In fact, continued expansion will likely be the trend. Before the ghost kitchen tour, let’s talk about the most common ghost kitchen types. We’ll give you a brief introduction, as well as provide some subtle yet important differences between them.

Vegetarian Kitchen

Plant-based menu items and vegetarian restaurants aren’t just a niche trend. There’s a huge demand, and the $3.7 billion spent in 2018 is only expected to rise in the coming decade. Combining this booming trend with another current trend — ghost kitchens — and you’ve got a recipe for growth. Enhanced ghost kitchen concepts for vegan-based menus can include fryers and griddles, rapid cook ovens, and touchless pickup options for takeout.

Asian Cuisine

Some of the most popular takeout and delivery cuisines are of the Asian variety. From a dish of beef chow mien to the search for General Tso, many Asian menu items are great for ghost kitchen concepts because they retain their desired qualities during the delivery process. Tour our Asian ghost kitchen, and see how wok ranges and griddles are configured side-by-side with fryers and pasta cookers in a concept suited for small footprint designs great for mobile areas or as part of a larger, commissary kitchen.

Sandwiches And Burgers

Americans eat more than 50 billion burgers each year. Coupled with sandwiches, they are the all-American favorites that are conducive for ghost kitchen concepts. By configuring prep tables, patty presses and meat grinders, fryers, griddles, broilers, and grills, it’s possible to put all of this together between two buns, so to speak. An enhanced sandwich or burger ghost kitchen footprint can be shrunk to fit spaces as needed.

Pizza

The other cuisine segment often tied to delivery and takeout, pizza is a $37 billion business, making it the sixth food group. Ghost kitchens are ideal for pizza concepts, and with the right battery of equipment solutions, profitability is right around the corner — quite literally in some cases. Combine top-of-the-line dough mixers with proofers and sheeters. Implement automatic dispensing systems to add sauces and toppings. Include a prep table or two and a great pizza oven, and you’ll have a ghost kitchen concept to help operators looking to expand their market presences.

Ventless Ghost Kitchens

No matter your ghost kitchen concept, consider equipping your kitchen with ventless cooking solutions like fryers, ovens, and griddles. By going ventless in a ghost kitchen space, operators save on installation costs without the need for traditional ventilation. Flexibility is key too. Ghost kitchens have a small footprint, and ventless equipment allows operators to place their equipment virtually anywhere, matching their kitchen layouts to their food prep and cooking processes.

Ready to experience these ghost kitchen concepts virtually for yourself? Click below to tour our Virtual Ghost Kitchen Experience. There’s no place for you to eat, but you might like what’s cooking!

Sources:

Eater