Ghost Kitchen Design & Floor Planning
Ghost kitchens are gaining in popularity as it allows for customers to enjoy access to more foods and flavors. Restaurants, hotels, and other locations are choosing to establish ghost kitchens as a way to generate revenue and offer food options to customers.
What is a Ghost Kitchen?
Ghost kitchens are designed for prep and cooking only. There is no dining space for customers. Instead, the meals are prepared and delivered within a specific radius of the kitchen.
Ghost kitchens have grown as a result of more consumers demanding restaurant-quality meals delivered to them, either at their homes or within a hotel. The benefit of such a kitchen is that it can get a brand some notoriety without dealing with the high rent of an urban location.
Ghost kitchens can be created virtually anywhere. Some are being created inside of portable kitchen containers while others are using the spare area of another restaurant’s back of house.
Ghost kitchens only have control of their food cost. Labor is nominal and with no need for a dining room, space is limited. As such, the requirements have to allow for quick and easy food prep with little to no waste.
The main components of ghost kitchen floor planning are the same as a traditional restaurant:
- Space for receiving deliveries
- Storage of food, both pantry and perishable
- Space for food prep
- Space for cooking
- Space for boxing food up for deliveries
- Space for cleaning
In some instances, when the ghost kitchen shares with a fully operational kitchen, there are shared areas. Food may be stored inside of the walk-in coolers of the restaurant with everything being labeled accordingly. The dish/cleaning areas are also shared, reducing the overall overhead as well as space required.
Designing a Ghost Kitchen
Designing the ghost kitchen needs to start by examining the amount of space that can be dedicated to the area. A variety of layouts can be conducive to a ghost kitchen, including:
- Assembly line
- Galley
- Ergonomic
The number of staff members who will be working in the ghost kitchen and the space allocated will often dictate the ghost kitchen layout. An assembly line can operate well with only two people. When space is limited, an ergonomic ghost kitchen design works well. When there are three or more people and there is enough space, a galley layout may be better.
Depending on the presence of other components in the existing space and regulations, a few additions may have to be made, including the addition of a prep counter or a handwashing sink.
What Is A Cloud Kitchen?
A cloud kitchen, that is also known as a ghost kitchen, is a commercial type of kitchen used for preparing menu food items for delivery and takeout. It is possible to say that the typical cloud kitchen acts as a virtual restaurant, meaning that there is no physical space for dining in. Since there is no seating area, cloud kitchens can be easily operated from anywhere.
Why A Cloud Kitchen Is Used?
Cloud kitchens are very beneficial for food businesses and investors, and here is a list of some of their benefits:
Availability 24/7
One of the main advantages of ghost kitchens is that they are available 24/7. With a cloud kitchen, food businesses can prepare and serve food to their customers any time. There is even no need for investing into delivery services, such as UberEATS for example.
Low Upfront Costs
A cloud kitchen involves no or low upfront costs because there is no need for tables, chairs, rent, decorative elements, and other things that you normally need in a restaurant, cafe, or bar.
Good Flexibility
Cloud kitchens have great flexibility, meaning that they can be operated in any city and any country. The flexibility of ghost kitchens allows them to succeed in today’s competitive market.
One Roof And Many Brands
Unlike typical restaurants, cloud kitchens run on the formula “one roof and multiple brands”. That means that there can be several brands working under one roof and delivering different types of food to customers without spending money on a location.
How To Start A Cloud Kitchen?
If you want to start your own cloud kitchen, here is a step-by-step process you need to follow:
- Know your customers because demographics play an important role in growing your business.
- Choose a concept. You need to find out what your target customers are looking for.
- Gain experience. In order to run your cloud kitchen successfully, you should have proper knowledge and skills.
- Study your competitors. Try to find out what types of food your competitors are serving and what not.
- Plan your budget.
- Choose a location that can be anywhere – your house kitchen, backyard, basement, and other places.
- Receive a license. You need to have an FSSAI license to operate a ghost kitchen.
- Think about the quality of food. It may be a good idea to hire a professional chef.
- Organize delivery. You will need to hire a professional driver.
Organize Your Ghost Kitchen With Mathias
Ghost kitchens are becoming more and more popular, and there are hundreds of restaurants, hotels, and other food places that want to establish a cloud kitchen. If you need help with designing this type of kitchen, do not hesitate Mathias – a commercial foodservice equipment dealer that has years of professional experience.