Ghost Kitchens: All You Need to Know

Your favourite meals delivered straight to your door. Plenty of options to suit your tastes. An online food court ready for you to order. It’s a fresh, new take on restaurant dining. Ghost kitchens will no doubt be the new wave. They’ll be popping up all around the country and changing the way Australians do what they do best, eat. This major shift is amongst many as a result of these trialling times. It’s also a great opportunity for those in the hospitality industry to get back into the business!

What is a ghost kitchen?

Ghost kitchens, also known as cloud, dark, smart, or virtual kitchens, are basically kitchen spaces for food and restaurant services without the storefront. These businesses sell meals exclusively through delivery channels and strip down all the fancy design and decor you’d normally get at a dine-in restaurant. As such, operational costs are much lower for these chefs and restaurants. The purpose instead is to serve quality food for customers to enjoy in the comfort of their own home. Something we’re doing a lot of lately. 

The great thing about these spaces is that you can even think of them like co-working hubs, but the kitchen version! There is opportunity for numerous different restaurants to be cooking up a storm in the same ghost kitchen. This will allow customers to order a combination of different foods too, adding something more to their dining experience. Of course, there’s also the option of having the whole kitchen privately. The choice is yours. This is in line with the growing trends of experiential retail and there’s no doubt we’ll be seeing more exciting changes in the hospitality industry pop up. 

What are the pros and cons of operating a ghost kitchen?

One of the greatest perks of working from a ghost kitchen is that it’s cheaper and much simpler to operate than the traditional dine-in restaurant. There’s no need for furniture, decor, wait staff or cleaning. The space will offer up lower overhead costs and instead give you the opportunity to utilise technology and its power to build your offering and communication to reach the target audience. Rental costs are also reduced. There’s no need to be right in the middle of the city to operate when there’s delivery available, so the hefty price tags that come with location are out the window. If you opt to share your space, these costs are even smaller. It gives you the ability to quickly start-up and launch your restaurant. 

There’s no doubt that these ghost kitchens are a great investment, but with pros there’s always cons. It’s more difficult to operate a virtual business. Your marketing and brand awareness is now solely going to be online. You’ll need to build brand image and visibility to attract your customers. Additionally, you’ll also be facing more competition, so it’s important to establish strong customer relationships. So, being technologically savvy will be vital. 

How can Spacenow help?

We know it’s a lot of information to process. Nobody was really speaking of ‘ghost kitchens’ up until recently, and now you’ll be hearing of it a lot. There’s a lot of things that are changing, and you’ll need to be on top of it to be successful! It can be a lot of pressure and confusion for someone who hasn’t dealt with online marketing or has experience with technology. If you’re searching for a kitchen space to work from, Spacenow can help you get started! All you’ll have to worry about is doing what you do best, dishing up quality food. We’ll handle the rest for you.

Keen to find out more?

Get in contact with us now! We’re ready to hear what you have in mind.