What Is a Ghost Restaurant? A ghost restaurant is non-traditional, independent restaurants that are operated and owned by people who once served food in their own kitchens but who aren’t associated with any restaurants at all. Their focus is more on cooking a unique cuisine from a special location that has no restaurant attached to it.
PROS OF GHOST RESTAURANTS:
- LOWER COST
Without a storefront, ghost restaurants are free to deploy new menu concepts. There is no need to update or change printed menus. These include the fact that there are no restaurants to take out every night and no nightly business costs
- QUICK START UP
Ghost restaurants do not need to be located in a highly trafficked location, and given the current social distancing measures, this is a significant advantage. Instead, owners can save money and rent an unassuming building without a need for large signage or foot traffic.
3. DATA DRIVEN INSIGHTS
The pros to owning a ghost restaurant include the fact that you don’t have to worry about taking care of customers or providing an open menu every day, and that you can start your business out on a small scale with very little capital outlay. Owners can rely on data to bridge the gap between supply and demand.
CONS OF GHOST RESTAURANTS:
- THIRD PARTY INTEGRATIONS
Most customers are often treated to a different menu from what you would find at a typical restaurant, and that the food that you serve is a bit different from what other restaurants in your neighborhood serve.
- ENGINEERING MEALS
You’ll need to make sure your food is presentable in a way that will keep it intact for the customers. Ensure your guests are receiving just as good of an experience as they would in a traditional restaurant.
- BRANDING DEVELOPMENT
If you don’t have a known entity, you’ll have to work on developing your brand. There will be much less customer interaction (short of the problems, which you will hear about). This makes building customer loyalty a challenge.
So there you have it – three pros and three cons to owning a ghost restaurant. Hopefully these pros and cons will help you in making your decision about whether to open up your own ghost restaurant or wait until you have some more experience.
