Dine-in restaurants have had to face a peculiar challenge over the past two years as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. However, while the traditional restaurant experience had been shaken up, the restaurant-to-consumer approach has seen wild success.
Considering the fact that most restaurants were seeing such few guests, a number of them transformed their space into a ghost kitchen. Ghost kitchens are the new innovative craze taking over the restaurant business. How do they work, though? Rather than utilizing the traditional storefront space filled with the tables, chairs, menus or waitstaff, a ghost kitchen requires a much more compact space. Most commonly around 300 to 800 square-feet, these spaces only consist of the kitchen equipment necessary to complete orders meant to be delivered to customers from third-party apps or a restaurants’ delivery team.
Analysts have said that ghost kitchens may influence the restaurant industry the same way that Amazon influenced the bookstore industry. Meaning, changing the foundation of what people typically expect out of a dining experience from physical to digital. The difference being that ghost kitchens are meant to strengthen and empower restaurants throughout the world rather than stripping them of their success. This isn’t just a trend for smaller businesses either. Large operations like national chains and well-established restaurants have even begun investing in ghost kitchens.
The infographic featured alongside this post is an excellent tool for restaurant owners and managers all over the world considering a ghost kitchen. In fact, for those new to the restaurant industry, a ghost kitchen might be the fastest way to jumpstart your business. The infographic will carefully explain the appeals to this model, the ways these spaces are typically established, and ways to properly manage a ghost kitchen.
A ghost kitchen is made possible through rentable property nearest your customer base. Granted it’s not required, as most businesses with an already established restaurant location will likely just try to transform their space. If you currently own a dine-in location, this wouldn’t be too challenging. All that needs to be done is separating the kitchen operations from the delivery operations with the space that was previously used to seat customers.
The major benefit of ghost kitchens is that every restaurant could prosper as a result of them; no matter if you’re a food truck, a startup, or a restaurant with a 100-year history. Not restricting your customer base to a dine-in experience means your digital marketing efforts will have a larger effect on your sales. In addition to this, the management process becomes much easier to handle. Going hand in hand with this, operating costs are cut substantially as a result of ghost kitchens.
It’s hard to say whether or not the dine-in restaurant industry will continue to plummet after pandemic restrictions are loosened. However, there are a few things that have become abundantly clear as a result of the pandemic. The first, is that the convenience of food delivery is unmatched. People won’t stop ordering delivery simply because they can pick-up their orders more safely. The second is that younger generations have clearly shown a digital preference to just about everything. As this demographic grows older, this likely won’t change. Meaning more money can be made through digital ventures such as ghost kitchens.
For more information regarding ghost kitchens, be sure to review the resource accompanying this post. Courtesy of Dickey’s Barbecue Pit Franchise
