Ghost kitchens take food delivery to next level

A GROWING DEMAND FOR FOOD DELIVERY HAS LED TO AN INCREASE IN STANDALONE KITCHEN SPACES

- ABRAHAM JEWETT

Sit-down restaurants may want to stand up. The conventional idea of patrons dining inside establishments is facing more and more challenges, with COVID-19 helping accelerate consumer demand for pickup and delivery alternatives.

The global pandemic’s effect on the restaurant industry has been tangible. More than 110,000 restaurants have had to shut their doors since the beginning of the health crisis.

“Every restaurant segment has been impacted by the pandemic, but the sales and employment losses have been felt disproportionately by full-service restaurants, which had much more challenging pivots to off-premises service,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the research and knowledge group for the National Restaurant Association, in an interview with Fortune.

Restaurants have had to adapt to new policies the pandemic has forced them to implement, such as adding outdoor seating – oftentimes in parking lots and sidewalks – delivery, and take-out options.

The closures have also hit restaurant owners and employees in their pocketbooks, with nearly 2.5 million jobs lost and industry losses of $240 billion from an expected value of $899 billion in 2020.

“Ultimately, recovery for restaurants will take industry-specific support through dedicated grants, tax relief, and other stimulus support at the federal, state, and local levels,” Riehle told Fortune.

People had already been warming up to the idea of eating at home before COVID reared its head, with pre-made meals, grocery delivery, and at-home entertainment options on the rise.

Now, as the dust finally settles after more than a year of COVIDinduced disruption, a new competitor appears to have risen: ghost kitchens.

A New Approach