What Goes into Operating a Ghost Kitchen?

1. Efficiency is the core of the Ghost Kitchen concept, what goes into ensuring each brand occupying space in your facility has what it needs to operate as efficiently as possible?

We work closely with each incoming restaurant operator to ensure that their space is optimized for their operation within one of our facilities. We have a team of restaurant and kitchen experts that make recommendations on the ghost kitchen design and which pieces of equipment will best allow them to operate in a small footprint. Walk in refrigeration provided in each individual kitchen means that the restaurant’s food product remains separate and easily accessible within arm’s reach. We also take each staff member and business owner/operator through a guided orientation that lays out the tools they need to be successful in our space. Our partnership with a delivery order aggregator saves our partners valuable space that is usually taken up by a multiple order tablets and printers and allows them to focus on one screen to see all their 3rd party orders.

Shared scullery, trash service, and cleaning services allow for space and cost efficiencies. Also, KU Team Members manage the front-of-house for 12-15 restaurants and that means labor savings on behalf of the restaurants, with most brands only having two to three staff members working at a time.

2. What are some of the biggest challenges you and the brands in your facility face as it pertains to limited kitchen space and maintaining efficiency with a project of this magnitude?

It is a bit of a shock to the restaurants when they arrive to unpack and set up their ghost kitchen space as they are used to slightly larger spaces in their brick-and-mortar locations. That being said, there is still ample space to effectively operate. We offer two sizes of kitchen spaces, Standard and Deluxe, to allow more space for those that need it. We find that product and tools expand to fit the space given, and when forced to find efficiencies in their ordering and storage processes, team members are usually able to easily pair down what they keep on hand to what they truly need to operate.

3. What is your pitch to restaurants in explaining what is a ghost kitchen concept and why they should get on board?

We’ve been fortunate in that we’ve had a surplus of restaurant operators seeking us out as a result of increasing popularity in take away and delivery, so we do currently have a waitlist. In general, the cost of opening in a Kitchen United kitchen center is a fraction of the cost of opening a traditional brick-and-mortar location, which is enticing to operators given our current circumstances coupled with increasing consumer demand for take away and delivery. Terms are negotiated based on the capacity the restaurant seeks and on the overlay services they request, like marketing support, business intelligence, equipment maintenance, and cleaning, as well as shared back and front-of-house labor. Another benefit is that Kitchen United staff handle everything except cooking so that restaurant team members can focus on the food.

4. With several different kitchen spaces spread across your building, what went into deciding on the best way to handle grease and used cooking oil?

Safety and speed were the two determining factors that went into our decision to work with Dar Pro. We considered factors such as our Chicago facility where we are located on the second floor, as we were looking for an easy and safe option to dump the used cooking oil in a way that wouldn’t put our Team Members at risk of spilling while making the trek from second to first floor to dump the oil by hand.

5. What were you looking for in a provider?

We were looking for a partner that would provide consistency of service, help us maximize our cost savings, and provide an improvement to our safety practices. Dar Pro checked off all three of these requirements for us and we look forward to our continued partnership.

6. How has DAR PRO’s equipment helped meet your needs as it pertains to handling your used cooking oil?

The pump system has been so helpful for our Team Members as it takes all the pain out of used cooking oil disposal. Like previously mentioned, our Chicago location is located on the second floor and as a result our employees used to have to haul our used oil down a service elevator to a loading dock where we then dumped it into a storage vat. This process meant that our Team Members were going outside in the elements in Chicago winters where there can be wet or icy surfaces. The pump and tank system that Dar Pro utilizes eliminates the need for that trip and allows us the ability to not have to leave our kitchen facility space and pump the oil directly from the second floor. This has eliminated the need for our staff to have to make a treacherous trip downstairs and takes away the risk of spills that occur when we are required to dump oil by hand.

As you can probably tell by now, ghost kitchens are a large project with a lot of different moving parts. The innovative concept operates within a finite amount of space and there several different things to account for to ensure efficient operation. DAR PRO is proud to help Kitchen United seamlessly handle its grease-related needs so it can continue to operate uninterrupted. After becoming more familiar with ghost kitchens, you might be wondering how they have affected quick service restaurants, delivery and the future of dining. Stay tuned for part two of our exclusive Q&A to learn more.