{"id":25397,"date":"2022-06-06T13:06:04","date_gmt":"2022-06-06T17:06:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-gordon-food-service-canada.pantheonsite.io\/ideas\/who-ya-gonna-call\/"},"modified":"2025-07-01T10:25:52","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T14:25:52","slug":"who-ya-gonna-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/who-ya-gonna-call\/","title":{"rendered":"Who ya gonna call?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Ghost kitchens and virtual kitchens are not about to vanish.<\/h2>\n<p>Two years ago, the restaurant industry couldn\u2019t stop talking about ghost kitchens. During the past two years, nearly every restaurant became one.<\/p>\n<p>With limited seating or closed dining rooms, back of house rose to the forefront. Online was a lifeline. Takeout and delivery became the customer experience. In short, survival meant dabbling in the ghost kitchen or virtual kitchen space.<\/p>\n<p>They won\u2019t likely vanish anytime soon. Three Gordon Food Service\u00ae experts weighed in:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cThe pandemic moved the conversation ahead about five years.\u201d \u2013 Darren Lexa, Calgary, Alberta-based Culinary Specialist.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI think this is only going to grow.\u201d \u2013 Eric Schamp, Indianapolis-based Business Solutions Specialist.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cGhost kitchens are going to continue as an industry disruptor.\u201d \u2013 Gareth Berg, Milton, Ontario-based Business Solutions Specialist.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Recognize the advantages<\/h3>\n<p>As off-premise dining grows and a younger demographic embraces technology, speed and convenience, restaurants sense a ghost kitchen opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll they really need to come up with is the concept,\u201d said Amina Gilani, co-founder and CEO of Sociavore, an all-in-one website and e-commerce platform for restaurants. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to staff or maintain a dining room because technology becomes your restaurant door.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With a menu seen only online, gone are time-consuming, costly paper menus. Offerings and pricing can change quickly as product availability, pricing or staff capabilities fluctuate, she adds.<\/p>\n<p>Another advantage is a simplified menu. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to sell appetizers, salads or complicated entr\u00e9es,\u201d Schamp said. \u201cChili\u2019s started up a ghost kitchen that just sells wings\u2013all you need are two or three items you can execute that are profitable and travel well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One example is BuffaLouie\u2019s, Schamp notes. The Bloomington, Indiana wings, subs and sandwiches restaurant opened a virtual kitchen concept making bagels. Gables Bagels, available for pickup only inside BuffaLouie\u2019s, proved so popular it will soon become a brick-and-mortar location.<\/p>\n<p>Even as restaurants return to dine-in service, ghost kitchens and virtual kitchens offer another revenue stream, Berg points out. \u201cThey can even be a place to try out new products before committing to them.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Be aware of challenges<\/h3>\n<p>Ghost\/virtual kitchens only work when you understand food cost to profitability in your own restaurant, Schamp and Lexa agree. Without a solid business foundation, you\u2019ll just make more work instead of more money. Areas to watch include:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Space, equipment and staff.<\/strong> It\u2019s easy to overwhelm the current kitchen and staff. A virtual concept may require more storage, prep area or appliances. It could require more staff, different scheduling or special training.<\/p>\n<p>You no longer just need a fryer guy, but you may need a chicken chef for three different concepts,\u201d Berg said. \u201cA cross-trained staff really helps.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Foods that travel well.<\/strong> When building a ghost\/virtual kitchen menu, consider the consumer\u2019s point of view. It\u2019s more than keeping hot or cold foods at temperature. How do they look and taste upon delivery?<\/p>\n<p>You have to be creative,\u201d Gilani said. \u201cA steak is really great hot off the grill, but a steak taco bowl is better for carryout.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meal kits, with ingredients foodies can prepare at home, are an alternative, she says. A Toronto ramen restaurant sells subscriptions, and packages arrive with instructions and QR code linking to a music playlist.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Technology, delivery and marketing.<\/strong> A robust website or e-commerce platform is a must, Gilani explains. You can sign with a third-party delivery service, but you might not draw enough traffic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlso, delivery apps can remove about 20-30% of your margin, and they don\u2019t share guest data,\u201d she said. \u201cYou give away a lot of margin and don\u2019t know who your guests are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Because consumers can only find your business online, marketing is critical for growth, Schamp says. You can advertise through social media, billboards, etc., but Lexa suggests using branded packaging.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ll need good packaging so your food travels well. Make sure it arrives with your name on it,\u201d he said. \u201cGFSImpress is a great option for operators to get involved in branding their own operation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cms.gfs.ca\/sites\/default\/files\/inline-images\/1-Ghost%20VS%20Virtual%20Infographic-760-CA%20EN.jpg\" alt=\"Ghost VS Virtual Kitchens Infographic\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ghost kitchens and virtual kitchens are not about to vanish. Two years ago, the restaurant industry couldn\u2019t stop talking about ghost kitchens. During the past two years, nearly every restaurant became one. With limited seating or closed dining rooms, back of house rose to the forefront. Online was a lifeline. Takeout and delivery became the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":23437,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[122,123,112,69,111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-catering-small-business","category-hotels-hospitality","category-restaurant-bars","category-running-your-business","category-healthcare"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.9 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Who ya gonna call? | Gordon Food Service<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/who-ya-gonna-call\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Who ya gonna call?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ghost kitchens and virtual kitchens are not about to vanish. 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Two years ago, the restaurant industry couldn\u2019t stop talking about ghost kitchens. During the past two years, nearly every restaurant became one. With limited seating or closed dining rooms, back of house rose to the forefront. Online was a lifeline. 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