ghost kitchen

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Technology

How Nimbus is succeeding where ghost kitchens failed

The shared-kitchen startup has limited its focus to providing kitchen space for a variety of food businesses, leaving the technology to others. The simplified approach has yielded profits and growth.

The properties will become part of a new digital restaurant company called Everybody Eats that will include C3 and Nextbite.

The joint company, BiteLabs, will span the Americas with its high-tech, multibrand fast casuals. Just don’t call it a ghost kitchen.

The unit in Quakertown, Pa., is the first of up to four such outlets for the delivery-focused food hall concept.

The pioneers who created commissary-style, shared kitchens for rent have closed, pivoted or shown signs of struggle. But elements live on in a variety of new delivery-forward concepts that some call ghost kitchens 2.0.

His portfolio company Craveworthy Brands is rolling out a new model to bring virtual brand revenue to its brick-and-mortar family of restaurants.

The diner chain also announced preliminary sales results for Q4, with comps rising 1.5% at franchised units and sliding 1.2% at corporate stores.

The unexpected move comes about a year after Kroger was part of a $100 million investment round in the ghost kitchen operator, which said it is shifting its focus to software.

The company plans to double its unit count by the end of next year and also has an acquisition up its sleeve.

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