How Ghost Kitchens Went From $1 Trillion Hype To A Struggling Business Model

[@christendenise220]

I used to deliver for uber eats. I was sitting at IHOP waiting to pick up an order. The customer texted me and asked, "are you waiting at a food truck?" I said, no, you ordered your food from a ghost kitchen and they are cooking it at IHOP. He was disappointed, he thought he was getting something "special" from some cool new food truck...Nope just boring old IHOP...lol

[@TomikaKelly]

A single company can produce two different products that have two different price points and quality levels.

[@Clip.Collector]

​@@TomikaKellyBut why be deceptive? For this example, call it IHOP+ or IHOP for Uber... something that tells you know where the food is coming from.

[@arglebargle5531]

​@@TomikaKelly lack of transparency makes it more difficult for consumers to make informed choices. Increasing kitchen complexity makes it more likely that quality will suffer.

[@yankees29]

I did GrubHub for a few years. I saw this somewhat frequently. Chucky cheese sold a ton of pizzas like thqt

[@jayjya]

@@Clip.Collectorright? Lexus and Toyota are in the same factory, so why do Lexus even exist!?

[@nikeprojock]

people are tired of fees, you end up paying basically double the price when all is said and done

[@jblyon2]

Even when they're sending out 40% off coupons UberEats is still almost double the price of just going directly to a restaurant. I quit using it last year, and even then I didn't use it much. I'd rather go without than pay so much extra. Plus these days most drivers seem to be multi-apping, so I'll see them drive around headed in the opposite direction for 20-30 minutes, or sit outside another restaurant for that long waiting on someone else's order, before bringing me my now cold and soggy food.

[@Piggy991]

In the US only

[@eddiew2325]

Boo hoo I’m poor

[@someguyontheinternet8793]

@@Piggy991this is definitely NOT a US only thing

[@jhnyjoejoe69]

​@@jblyon2report them when they do orders for other apps when they already have an order for you

[@occasionaldanger]

So this is just a paid advertisement for Nimbus with a news flair to make it seem organic. Great. Super awesome neutral reporting.

[@steak5599]

If you check out the Rent price from these Shared Kitchen company, you will understand why most of them would flop. Their Rents are NOT cheap, and the space is very small. If you are doing it for DD or Uber Eat, you get whack with another 30% fee from these app. You will find yourself slaving away and making these Coporations rich like a Subway Franchise owner.

[@ced.ricooo]

I took it as an added perspective, and how the ghost kitchens that are still operational are transitioning / staying afloat.

[@SplyBox]

I mean welcome to capitalism? Also this is a common thing for literally all their videos like this, they use it to translate how the common person can understand what it takes running a successful small business and the drive and thought processing it takes to run any sort of money making business. That's a good education and you highlight a savvy company that is operating smartly. Their whole dive into Direct to Consumer 6 days ago highlighted Warby Parker in a similar way to this, this is CNBC's whole thing. Don't know if you're like fully aware of that

[@steak5599]

Have you tried look up how much these Shared Kitchen space cost in rent for a small space they offer? They seem awfully expensive. Topping it off with Uber Eat or DD taking 30% of the receipt, how can anyone make money off running a ghost kitchen in Nimbus?

[@WarpedBlinds]

Smart guy. You're not easily fooled.

[@blazinpyromaniac]

Issues with ghost kitchens: Paying a premium for average to even crappy food; if these ghost kitchens got bad user reviews they would just open a new profile with a different name; and trust. If they don't have a store-front restaurant, I just don't trust them. Who knows what's going in my food.

[@dunnowy123]

100%. Not only are there no health and safety inspections, it disadvantages restaurants and food trucks that REALLY have to put in the work to comply with local laws, get their permits etc. I never opt for them if I see it on my food delivery app. But I do see why some restaurants needed to do it during the pandemic, they should just be treated like other restaurants are.

[@gitgit1995]

Even though a food truck is a small hot box with no plumbing resulting in a more greasy place to get food from.

[@nickelarcade6934]

Good point. I feel that way about meal delivery services. Although there’s more accountability there

[@miket.4192]

I disagree - the issue was one kitchen with one menu was operating 50+ different looking/sounding 'restaurants' - it's a dumb business model that did not fool consumers so it failed - EVs up next....

[@TheMissingDislikeButton]

​@@miket.4192good point but EV is here to stay

[@CarputingYT]

This video seems like more of an ad for Nimbus Kitchen the company...

[@NikConwell]

Agreed, I'm getting a vibe that they and HappyBoards helped produce this "infomercial".

[@Assistant-ProfessorX]

Don’t forget HappyBoards. This is a double ad.

[@ashleyshim2078]

Because it is....

[@Effervescent_Smegma]

Notice how NOT A SINGLE CHEF was interviewed 😂

[@amanciocohen5965]

It's an ad for her company to ponzi scheme VCs masquerading as a CNBC documentary.

[@hotmess9640]

Cause they’re all a single chef 😂

[@incurableromantic4006]

I don't suppose a ghost kitchen is somewhere a chef aspires to work in. It's barely an improvement from slinging out Big Macs.

[@farmerjer9339]

Chef Mike only beeps anyway! Lol

[@scottstempmail9045]

Must maintain the narrative.

[@Brigmz]

I'll save you 12 minutes. People actually want to know where their food comes from most of the time and isn't being cooked in a Chuck E Cheese or some uninspected kitchen in a church.

[@h4zmic]

my man

[@addanametocontinue]

From what I know, ghost kitchens are just virtual restaurants. The food is still cooked in and delivered from an actual restaurant, just one owned by another company. I'm not aware there is a trend of ghost kitchens having food cooked offsite at some rando's house and then delivering those to a restaurant for diners to pick up. As far as inspection goes, I'm pretty sure an uninspected kitchen in a church of an uninspected Denny's is illegal either way. That isn't an issue with ghost kitchens, that's just an issue with running a food business illegally, lol.

[@DynamicLearning4u]

Thank you!

[@CS-qc7np]

@@addanametocontinue🎯 because this shows understanding of ghost kitchens. Ghost kitchens are the restaurant version of generic food that is actually made and sold by big brands (ex: Lil’ Mamas Burgers Website that is actually owned and ran by a Wendy’s restaurant group out of a Wendy’s restaurant).

[@jimv77]

Not all hero's wear capes....

[@richardwilson88]

Commercial for happy boards and nimbus disguised as journalism.

[@samsonsoturian6013]

It's tucked away in a real report, but the CEO looks like some CNBC editor's daughter

[@PhatAssObese]

@@samsonsoturian6013 fr, she looks like she never worked hard a day in her life. shout out to the underpaid ghost kitchen chefs working for her

[@matthewj6154]

And happyboards is a client of nimbus. Funny that.

[@wellenmudihlwa233]

we heard more about nimbus and happyboards than we heard about ghost kitchens

[@EzraTeter]

They will still go bankrupt. DeLorean didn't make gangbusters in sales after Back to the Future.

[@infiniti512]

Why did I stop ordering? First was fees. Brands would offer free delivery then charge random fees that would end up as high as the order itself. Then there was the quality and taste of the food and my order never seemed to be right and would be cold once I got it.

[@gr8macaw1]

Yes I was tired of getting cold food.

[@TheMissingDislikeButton]

​@@gr8macaw1you forgot to add tips to your order

[@criticaloptimist]

My favorite was my sushi when they packed hot miso soup on top of it. Thank you restaurant for creating a health hazard!

[@c87kim]

“Free delivery” was often a form of promotion that the apps offered to businesses to feature them on the top of the feed. Can’t go on forever cause the brands had to pay for it, but sometimes the delivery apps just did it without any prior notice. Didn’t really matter to us tho, we just get the order, make the food, then wait for the driver.

[@mcbam989]

Ma’am some of the best meals I’ve ever had were from a Church basement.

[@bijanka]

Exactly. Not sure why she thought that was a drag when generally church food slaps from Baptist meals after a repast to Catholic fish fries.

[@Eric-zs6rd]

Ok the charcuterie board thing is just the poorly veiled marketing scheme I've ever seen. You can't even call them a kitchen. There is no chef required. It's cutting up cheese and dried meats they ordered from a processor and just putting it on a board. The foods are nearly nonperishable which reduces storage costs and the only skill needed is plating. Who would buy that instead of just getting the meat and cheese straight from the processor? The guy doesn't care about food. He just saw that it's one of the highest profit margin sales a restaurant makes next to alcohol and can thought it'd work for him as a get rich quick scheme if he can translate it to home delivery. It's like trying to sell the 6 dollar restaurant beer for people to have delivered home, hoping they won't just buy the 10 dollar 6 pack of it from the grocery store and open it themselves.

[@MrRapmaster19]

I'm honestly baffled at just how stupid of an idea HappyBoards is. The market for Charcuterie isn't all that big to begin with besides hosting parties or picnics, and even then why would you pay 2-3x the price for one when you can buy a charcuterie set from a grocery store of equal quality at 1/3 the price? Even in bigger cities like NY, there are shops like Eataly where you can assemble a very high quality board with meats and cheese clearly from high quality vendors for still a cheaper price. How one not only thinks building a business model like this is a good idea but managed to get actual funding from VC firms is beyond me...

[@TomikaKelly]

Tbf, MANY of the things we buy are silly and could be more cost effective if done ourselves. Fast food still thrives despite it being cheaper to cook at home.

[@TomikaKelly]

​@@MrRapmaster19People pay for convenience.

[@MrRapmaster19]

@@TomikaKelly charcuterie is still SUCH a a niche product. Fast food/casual is food people generally eat for lunch/dinner somewhat often. Nobody eats charcuterie for a meal, it’s purely a once in a few months thing used for parties and special occasions

[@Eric-zs6rd]

@@TomikaKellyThe thing is that it's not even more convenient. I pay for convenience all the time and I get that. The fast food saves you a solid 20 minutes cooking, plus clean up of and putting stuff away. Charcuterie is not that. Charcuterie is like ordering lays potato chips. No cook or prep. Instead walking over to the pantry and just opening the bag of the chips yourself, you pay extra and wait for someone else to have take the chips out of the bag and put it on a piece of wood to deliver to you.

[@caveman1226]

On-demand charcuterie boards… what a dumb idea. Ain’t that many people having popup dinner parties that they forgot to prepare for to justify spending 3x+ what it would’ve cost you at the grocery store. Every clip with that guy in it felt like it was lifted from The Onion.

[@PhillKaggitz]

I was thinking the same thing. It’s disgusting the things that people come up with

[@davidinwashington]

100% agree. But then I remembered there are plenty of people in NY who can easily be separated from their money. Charcuterie board dude will probably make a fortune selling $10 in cheese and grapes for $100 to Wall Street MBA types.

[@therusky]

there's people with money whom 50 dollars to 200 dollars doesn't make any difference, it's like you paying 6 dollars for a pizza instead of 5 dollars but you save the hassle of going to do grocery shopping etc, it makes a lot of sense really to me...

[@ElloWabbit]

For my TLDRs….15 min ad for Nimbus.

[@ddawg789]

Ghost Kitchens is dying where I live because people feel duped. It just feels shady that you're not actually getting your food from a 'real' restaurant. Plus, the food was generally absolute crap, and a number of ghost kitchens kept getting shut down by the health authority for being so dirty it was a danger to public health. After one bad experience I now research a restaurant on any app that I don't recognize, just to make sure its not a Ghost Kitchen. Good riddance.

[@kamilareeder1493]

I worked as a personal shopper in past. So people would hire me to locate or select an item for them. Its like imagine, you ask me to find you a Ralph Lauren trench coat in brown and come back to you with a knockoff one AND amd added finders fee lol 😂❤🙈🤷‍♂️ Ghost kitchens have the same energy.

[@TomikaKelly]

​@@kamilareeder1493 Except RL is a SPECIFIC brand. As long as the food tastes good and is sanitary, I couldn't care less who made it. If McDonalds can pass inspection AND make me an amazing, gourmet meal, why should I care that it came from McDonald's?

[@TomikaKelly]

I 100% understand your need for your food to be sanitary, but I do wonder if every place you order from is up to code? If the food tastes good and is up to code or at least on par with the code ratings from the places you normally order from, what difference does it make to you whether it's a ghost kitchen or a real restaurant?

[@mikekell920]

They are being duped, the virtual restaurants that show up on delivery apps give off the appearance of a food truck or mom and pop business with fake pictures when in reality your “Louisiana style chicken wings” are being microwaved in the back of a Dennys

[@amanciocohen5965]

Her husband paid CNBC for this TV ad for her company.

[@chriskim7123]

😂 The vocal frying tho

[@rafsoverflow]

Thanks for a Nimbus commercial

[@justayoutuber1906]

Basically an ad for Nimbus. Did they pay for this ad?

[@mesahusa]

The concept itself isn't bad, it's that every go-big startup saw it as an opportunity to rip people off. They expand rapidly with zero quality control or staff training, and cut corners every way possible whilst being completely blinded to customer feedback. As soon as sales slow down, they just open another brand and continue business as usual until consumer trust completely evaporates in an area. The idea itself is great, and there were some truly wonderful modifications to the model I saw, i.e. bento delivery for whole offices/apartments, or serving unique foods that don't fit well in traditional restaurant hours. But as it stands, bottom-of-the-barrel kitchens have completely flooded the market to try and sell you pre-frozen chicken tenders and sweet baby ray's for $16 and hope that people are too stupid to know.

[@incurableromantic4006]

"I was really surprised I couldn't just push a button and have an amazing charcuterie board delivered to my apartment" It's so hard to know where stereotypes about New Yorkers come from. . . . . . .

[@BobPagani]

I'd say that's more an indictment of rich techies than New Yorkers specifically.

[@jgp1294]

He was drunk

[@sergeantbigmac]

@@BobPagani Agreed, id expect that same mentality from rich tech-bros in SanFran and Seattle as well

[@selalewis9189]

This guy isn’t representative of New York, just why people don’t like him. This man lives in New York City and when drunk he doesn’t go to a pizza place, a Chinese restaurant or any other place that will fill you up for cheap and get you sober. I cannot believe that bs charcuterie story of his got him a loan to fund this boondoggle.

[@mrmitch1000]

I caught the lie in the reporting. When she said that people can walk by and look right into their kitchens, it shows the glass with clouded tape over the window so you can't see in the restaurant. 🤔

[@jonchalk3855]

I noticed it too. Good catch.

[@hykentechnicalmeshtaskchai1704]

That man really likes cheese and charcuterie boards

[@corborb69]

When she said that customers can walk by and look in the windows and the shot was a big window that was covered with frosted tinting not visible from the street.

[@alexlee8617]

To be delivered at your home, You are NOT walking by!

[@productionrockstars]

The comment I came for lol

[@karnudom]

At first I tried to keep and open mind that Nimbus was being interviewed for their experience, but the more I saw the co-founder and their "happy" client being given screen time, it started to sound more and more like an ad.... a sort of undeclared endorsement if you will, things that are actually against KZbin rule

[@samsonsoturian6013]

Having once worked for a restaurant, I can imagine the headache of having to learn to make food from five different ghost restaurants

[@Distortion0]

Why is it that every time I looking to something that's become the being of my existence it turns out venture capital was behind it.

[@CarlCollinsTV]

The delivery costs more than the damn food now. Nobody but those with corporate credit cards are ordering food.

[@CarlCollinsTV]

@droiddevx03 if you don't gone back down in yo Mommas basement. 🤣

[@maniesh]

This video could have been less than 3 minutes long and still answered the question. The rest of the video seems like promotion for Nimbus. This seems like a pattern for these CNBC "documentaries" lately, are these just paid advertisements? The Nimbus CEO uses a lot of buzzwords and aspirational staements instead of going into detail about their business model; sounds like it's stuggling to grow and looking for investors who don't ask too many questions.

[@Maderasdesign]

everything is so expensive and food from these ghost kitchens has been so mediocre in my opinion. your money is spent better getting quality ingredients and making food at home. Only time i splurge now is when the taco food truck swings by work.

[@violett874]

I agree with your first point, but not everyone buying delivery is doing it for convenience. Even before delivery apps existed, lots of disabled folks and working people didn't have the luxury of ability/ mobility and time to cook.

[@doujinflip]

Right, the only time I actually had time to prepare and clean up meals for one was during COVID lockdowns.

[@stainlesssteellemming3885]

@@doujinflip Then you are doing it wrong. Don't try and cook every night. Spend an afternoon per week cooking meals you can freeze, ideally more than a week's worth. And when you are cooking a recipe double or triple the ingredients, so you have stuff to freeze. You'll quickly build up a wide selection of meals in the freezer, and occasionally going a whole week without cooking anything. I do it for two. In a couple of hours I can knock out 4 or 5 curries in large quantities and freeze them. Or I can make a few gallons of soup, and freeze that. Today, while I potter with other things, or go out shopping etc, I'll have bread dough rising ready to bake and (yes) freeze. Bread takes about 30 minutes of hands-on time to make, and doesnt interfere with me doing other stuff. My job can turn into 100 hour weeks at the drop of the hat, and last week was one of them. We ate curries, chillies, casseroles, and pizza, with charcuterie with home made bread for lunch. Other than chopping the toppings for the pizza, all the hot stuff came out of the freezer and into the microwave/oven. The charcuterie was just cold cuts, fruit, and cheese.

[@MissWinnie8572]

I feel like ghost kitchens rely on deception/deceptive marketing. You open DoorDash and see a new restaurant and want to try but lo and behold it’s literally just Denny’s or Chilis. Even if the ingredients are technically different, once you know it’s restyled fast casual food it loses any advantage over literally anywhere else with better branding/reputation

[@samsonsoturian6013]

The only way the business model would be remotely viable is if you're a celebrity chef that invents recipes

[@SohanDsouza]

Or worse, it's some middleman who's created a fake front listing with slick stock food photography and scrummy menu descriptions, skims a cut off your marked-up-for-apparently-better-food payment, and then places an order with the actual restaurant, using the rest of the payment, on your behalf.

[@redwolfexr]

Where I an they even did it in reverse. Established brands were using ghost trailers to extend their delivery areas. Which was funny to see a Wendy's in an alley. (the 25% price increase versus going to a regular store for menu prices)

[@abrahamk9]

Denny's, IHOP and similar restaurants getting into the ghost kitchen business is my problem. I'm not looking to get a mediocre philly cheesesteak from Denny's. Now I google the address of the restaurant before I order from them to make sure they aren't actually a chain restaurant.

[@oleggusev9467]

The ghost kitchens are not competing with traditional restaurants, but with ready-to-eat foods from a supermarket. The latter are several times cheaper, have reputable quality controls... And furthermore, how can a consumer know if the ghost kitchen dish is not just a slightly warmed packaged food from a supermarket?

[@ultrakeka]

1. Pay online markup 2. Pay service fee 3. Pay for delivery 4. Wait for your food to be cooked 5. Wait for a courier to deliver OTHER orders 6. Receive your cold ugly food in a plastic packaging and enjoy it

[@manco828]

🎉🎉🎉😂😂😂😂😢😢😢😢😢

[@fuzzy3440]

I stopped eating out many years ago. I only eat out when travelling, or some very rare outing with my wife. Saves me tons of money and I control the quality and ingredients. Both of us cook. I make in the mid six figures, so I can afford it, just refuse to pay for it.

[@doujinflip]

Depends on the place though. In Asia it’s a wash because the low labor upcharge and sometimes questionable quality of regular groceries makes buying your own ingredients only worth it at restaurant size quantities direct from wholesalers.

[@Mayhzon]

It's always the rich guys actually making their own food not wasting it on a restaurant. I'm starting to see a pattern.

[@ZAGIDI]

Nimbus is the Wework of the food kitchen business

[@djp1234]

I stopped going to restaurants over the past few years. Prices are insane, plus tips.

[@rickysmyth]

It's your own fault for tipping. Besides, if you tip in a big business, the management takes a percentage of it.

[@constantineblinkov2972]

As soon as the lady said "community is what people want", I became 99.6% convinced that she will be bankrupt very soon.

[@tony9146]

This definitely sounded like a last ditch effort by Nimbus to reach new clients and buffer up revenue so that their investors can try and salvage their capital. Boost near-term revenue, use that to justify unrealistic DCF forecasts or to apply unrealistic multiples, and offload it at a higher valuation than where it currently stands. I can’t imagine the bath they took on this one.

[@crann777]

You mean MrBeast Burger wasn't a sustainable business model?! I'm shocked! Shocked I say! /s

[@epochrocks3857]

I actively avoid the obvious ghost kitchens on delivery apps. The food is overhyped and doesn’t deliver on quality and consistency. But it’s not hard to see why, they are extreme cost cutting operations. Lower quality ingredients, virtually no customer service. And the cooks go from making Mac and cheese to a burger to tikka masala with no passion for their cuisine and craft.

[@doujinflip]

I never saw the real advantage of delivery. I always go pick things up myself so that I’m not waiting on vague arrival times and calls from confused drivers.

[@eduardoig17]

I have had food delivered once. I do not understand why people are willing to pay so much for delivery. The food ends up being roughly twice as expensive and it’s cold by the time it gets to you. I don’t get the appeal.

[@dojomojomofo]

Yeah, not worth it... So many horror stories from people too. On the other hand, I love ordering on an app, then showing up, spending like 1 minute in the place as I pick up the order and being on my way in less time than it takes to pay.

[@doujinflip]

@squibbelsmcjohnsonShelf stable items are one thing. It’s another when quality deteriorates within minutes to the point it could make you ill 🤢

[@ShaCaro]

I've never encountered food that was twice the price or cold by the time it arrived. You sound like you have no idea what you're talking about, or are basing an entire opinion off of one bad experience.

[@redwolfexr]

@@panzer_TZ no matter HOW they say it -- nothing is every "free." Usually the prices "in-app" don't match the price in store. Often they already marked up the prices to include delivery whether its delivered or not. Restaurant prices went up 25% almost immediately. Average delivery costs restaurant 25%. Coincidence? I don't think so!

[@BillyBob-ng6ur]

@@ShaCaro I think you have no idea what your talking about and you clearly live in a extremely small world

[@gxguy2906]

The issues are the delivery fees and tips. With that much amount, it's better to go get your own food.

[@NicksDynasty]

I own a food truck that operates as a "ghost Kitchen" we take only orders only but folks come and pick up their food at the truck. It just streamlines the operation so we can focus on cooking rather than stopping to take orders We only do a tiny bit of delivery so we keep most of our sales

[@doujinflip]

I remember Japan figured this out in like the 90s, where some ramen shops had vending machines selling tokens/vouchers for the food you wanted which you hand to the cooks. It was an analog version of the apps and kiosks that we see today.

[@NicksDynasty]

@@doujinflip they are very wise folks

[@qri3522]

This reminds me of I think Jonah Hill in The 40-Year Old Virgin trying to buy something at that eBay store. Had to bid or buy it online. Do you suspect you might be losing out on some sales however? Maybe do a test trial? Don’t 99% of other food trucks do it normally?

[@acme3drevit]

I think the reason he couldn’t find Charcuterie board delivery on Uber eats was because he was the first person in the history of mankind to want to get a Charcuterie board delivered

[@Bogusgal]

yep!

[@Tonyhouse1168]

It’s so weird that we think companies laying off workers means they’re not doing well. Look at all the big tech, entertainment, and commercial companies; they’re all laying off workers while somehow making record profits. It’s amazing how screwed our economics got when we started focusing on “future earnings” instead of actual profit and paying people results-based wages.

[@Super-verse]

I think Nimbus and the other brand need more funding from investors.

[@chrisalley6282]

So that guy had a little too much wine, got tipsy, and accidentally typed "charceuterie" into Uber Eats. Sure Jan👍

[@TheCesarWay.]

That was cringe lol how dare they not have a charcuterie on demand! Wtf lol

[@wolfmangoland7972]

Restaurants increased their prices after Covid and customers were happy to help the restaurants and their staff; however, in the past three years restaurant prices have increased by an average of 45% in larger cities. On top of that restaurants don't pay their employees proper wages, so customers have to pay their staff wages. Going out to eat has become a luxury.

[@rialisimo]

1) customers go back to same restaurants 2) obscure brand thing 3) inflation 4) increased regulatory scrutiny

[@xdxdsheep]

Told you restaurants that cater to dead spirit is not a viable business.

[@SohanDsouza]

Applebee's and anyone else should be allowed to open as many ghost kitchens as they want, but the customer is entitled to up-front, pre-payment transparency into the fact that they have.

[@addanametocontinue]

My gripe with ghost kitchens is they tend to charge more, but the food isn't necessarily any better. Then there's the big chain restaurants that create a bunch of fake restaurants to dupe you into ordering from them. When people want to try something new, they don't mean that they want to try the chicken wings from Denny's but under a different name because those are the same damned chicken wings.

[@criticaloptimist]

I love how that Deloitte guy was dancing around the low quality of the ghost kitchens. It was bad food. So it’s like on Amazon when you have to search for something that seems like a real company making actually good food. If a place has a brick and mortar restaurant, they have to be at least somewhat edible because it’s such a rough business. A ghost kitchen can dissolve with minimal losses.

[@Al3xTrucho20]

The thing that immediately turned me off was when I ordered a burger and fries from a burger place and it was made in an Italian restaurant kitchen. The burger was crap and the restaurant that it came from was rated 2 stars on yelp for their terrible food. Never again.

[@redwolfexr]

Local barbeque chain runs three different ghost brands here. Burgers and Chicken Tenders, and Wings -- (the lowest hanging of fruit)

[@FBWalshyFTW]

Anybody who has had food from a ghost kitchen before knows why they're dying: The food sucks ass. And it doesn't take a genius to understand why. To make good food, you need passion and skill. Ghost kitchens incentivize neither of those things.

[@dn9597]

Here's an idea... cook your own food!!! It saves money and much healthier (and safer) than buying from "ghost kitchens" or eating out!😉

[@samsonsoturian6013]

People like pretending menial tasks are beneath them and/or work too much overtime to be bothered with cooking or are just lazy.

[@doujinflip]

It’s not so much menial as tedious, especially when living solo with only a Roomba to help clean. The only time I had time to prepare and clean up a simple protein and salad lunch for one was during COVID lockdowns. And those were the half of the time during split staffing when I wasn’t in the server farm maintaining the ability to remote work for everyone else.

[@Bogusgal]

Cooking your own food is not always a healthy option. So many overweight people cook their own food.

[@Bogusgal]

@@samsonsoturian6013 Savvy and HNW businessmen have no time for this. Not everyone should cook.

[@Tonyhouse1168]

“I had to type charcuterie into my phone and couldn’t because I was wasted” - That’s something the guy actually said. I have zero hope for the future of this species.

[@piadox]

Ghost kitchen restaurants probably failed because of the lack of transparency and poor quality. There used to be one trailer across the street from my apartment that had 10 restaurants listed there. Most were cookie cutter, stock photo types, but they also had Umami Burger there. I would not trust a small trailer to do quality food for 10 completely different cuisines and all those restaurants indeed had very low ratings due to poor quality. It closed a few months ago.

[@RealiveSoul]

This is just a Nimbus ad. Lmao

[@rhombusx]

I don't mind if an independent chef or a small startup brand rents out an unused kitchen... the crappy thing about ghost kitchens were when established brands basically just made up a new brand but still served the same food.

[@Xenon-4300]

I felt like I was on a corporate speak zoom call the entire time watching this. Ugh.

[@alphaomega1351]

Wait ✋🏻 ... so there's a kitchen for ghosts 👻?! 😳

[@davidperry4013]

Ghost kitchens are ethically questionable. People thought it's from a food truck or a new restaurant that just opened at a local strip mall when they order food from a ghost kitchen. Ghost kitchen food comes from either a either a centralized kitchen that cooks food just for app deliveries like virtual dining concepts or nimbus kitchens which poses as many different restaurants, or a familiar restaurant like buffalo wild wings, TGIF, or ihop. Sometimes that food can come from someone's home. Getting the exact same fried fish sandwich with a generic bun or whatever dish from those apparently different restaurants or food trucks, the food has been mickey moused together by a restaurant for the wrong cuisine, or it's something familiar instead of new and different are the symptoms of a ghost kitchen. To save yourself, you got to do research. Most of the time the convenience of ordering food on a delivery app is not worth it.

[@faris.arifin]

even the ghosts are struggling nowadays~

[@MieyaO]

Is it just me or does Nimbus Kitchen concept sound like a food court with the only difference being the restaurants are behind the screen rather than multiple ordering counters?

[@davidinwashington]

Food halls (modern food courts) are quite the rage in Seattle and Portland these days. But just like with the food trucks, it's always over priced mediocre food trying to be ultra-trendy.

[@rillaaa5740]

anyone who used 2020 as economic metric deserves to fail miserably how do you gage future economic trends based on one of thee most random event thats ever happened to economics in modern history

[@wolfmangoland7972]

Restaurants increase their menu prices by 15-20% for orders placed through Uber and other delivery apps. In addition, customers have to pay for other fees and tips, so end up paying double the price in the restaurant.

[@boogiedownforever]

6:22 were on ground floor and you can see the kitchen through our windows as they pan to the shot of the chef in front of the frosted glass window

[@hentisenti]

Quality control is impossible with the model

[@subratr5807]

Because people don't want to pay 30 bucks for a frozen pack of tendies

[@kingokafor6215]

WHAT! It's over and I never even knew was started

[@windsong3wong828]

The home “ ghost kitchen “ serving the family is the best and cheapest.

[@jonchalk3855]

At one point during the pandemic, I saw many "ghost kitchens" popping up around town. Mainly in commercial trailers (you can tell it is a kitchen by the aluminum exhaust on their rooftops). Soon after the pandemic was finished, many of those trailers looked abandoned. Others disappeared. Now I don't see them. But I do still see a lot of "gig workers" picking up orders at the various restaurants and fast-food places. I don't see as many different food delivery companies, but I do see at least three or four still running.

[@ooogyman]

A dude gets drunk, thinks "man, I could really go for a charcuterie board right now...", and creates a start-up. Didn't I see this plot line on Silicon Valley?

[@jimv77]

Eating out is just getting ridiculous for most Americans. Fast food, Fast casual, Sit down, you name it: all getting more expensive, lower quality, smaller portions....sorry, time to eat at home and save.

[@doomtomb3]

Yea except grocery store prices have gone through the roof too

[@fifteentwelve]

​@@doomtomb3 Might as well starve

[@primarysf-z6z]

My biggest problems with ghost kitchens is that A. They tend to be alot pricier than everywhere else B. I have no sense of the quality of the food or what Im getting.

[@mikethemechanic7395]

Wife and I went to Restaurants during the while time of COVID. My wife and I would eat outside with masks on. We supported our family owned restaurants. We ordered MR Beast burger from a ghost kitchen. My 10 year olds said it sucked. That’s the only time we ordered from a Ghost kitchen.

[@baller6382]

Ghost Kitchens probably won’t ever completely disappear but their ability to survive and thrive as an industry is certainly under question.

[@apolodelsol]

When you have an economy desperate to invest in anything, stupidity rises into the mainstream, and then crashes

[@I_amsoprecious]

So… the answer to the ghost kitchen crisis is food halls and mall food courts with big windows and event space? Groundbreaking.

[@3DJapan]

As an Uber Eats driver it was often confusing trying to find the pick up location because it was either not a restaurant or it was a restaurant with a different name.

[@Norcalflat]

Seems like they don't know the difference between a chef and a cook. Food delivery just isn't worth it anymore.

[@ItsMeMrAzu]

The “ghost kitchen” that companies like UberEats is purging from the app are probably ppl cooking from home and making the same menu over and over again. it honestly has nothing to do with the “ghost kitchen” like nimbus or Cloudkitchens that rents kitchen spaces to customers. The way this term gets thrown around is wild.

[@ricardoesco8146]

Like broad city said "Just pick one they're all chemicals" 😆

[@NaSo0414]

It should be required that Uber drivers and all those other services, to report people selling food out of their home without a business license to the FDA.

[@cristio211]

Nice nimbus add

[@decnijfkris3706]

another very cost effective advice is ....cook all your food yourself to maintain your standard of living in a price raising environment. First it does not matter what food you'll buy at Wallmart ( I do rather posh stuff). Mix traditional brands with cheaper brand for example in houseld and cleaning goods. When I buy prepared sandwiche 20 times a month now that money is just gone. for 20 times eating. When I spend that same budget at Aldi's not watching promotions or prices I buy food eat at least 40 times (it is much more) I only have to count the cooking and hauling cost...which is peanuts literally cheap. I am not against restaurants Ilke to go out eating but I am watching when and how I do it. Life is so good..lobster, foie gras, escargots, ribeysteak, saucige, chopped veal porc mix, turkey chicken (wings) you name it Buy a small two fire electric stove and three pots...

[@AnthonyNeedsTech]

if only people COOKED at home. problem solved.

[@EcomCarl]

It's fascinating to see how quickly the food delivery landscape is evolving! The decline of ghost kitchens highlights the importance of staying agile in the industry and adapting to changing consumer preferences. 🍔

[@JohnDoryPsh]

I'll take the "church basement" food over the "you can see the food from the street level window" model.

[@jasontungjw]

In Southeast Asia in particular, Grab is still surviving quite well with ghost kitchens.

[@doujinflip]

Delivery services in general is better in Asia, with low labor upcharges, shorter distances, and the use of low cost scooters/e-trikes 🛵🛺

[@tony9146]

This is clearly a paid advertisement by Nimbus. A much more interesting story would be for CNBC to report on where Nimbus’s founders got their capital and who are the investors behind this venture. Oh and Nimbus, if your best example to show in this paid ad is a charcuterie delivery company you should know that by this point you’re just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

[@ultrakeka]

At whom this Nimbus Kitchen ad targeted? Feels like they want to sell their business.

[@GreaterJan]

I would like to have the usual narrator back

[@ricnyc2759]

The ghost kitchens spooked the customers away!

[@Liz-wz8dh]

The annoying thing is when you place an order for pickup with some restaurant you never heard of before, then you show up to some restaurant you otherwise wouldn't have even gone to. There are some retaurants in town I avoid because I don't consider them very clean and it's been really annoying to find those are the very restaurants that like to start "ghost kitchens." Very gross. Glad I cook for myself now.

[@Riverbend1752]

I don't use ghost kitchens because I don't use food delivery services. The drivers for those services are incredibly exploited, and I refuse to be a part of that exploitation.

[@johnaaron37]

Why mention Denny's? That's not a ghost kitchen, it's a major corporation engaging in deceptive marketing.

[@eugeniorenaldo]

Nimbus, another example of a ultra rich daddy's girl pretending to be self-made...

[@CS-qc7np]

Ghost kitchens are the restaurant version of generic food that is actually made and sold by big brands (ex: Lil’ Mamas Burgers Website that is actually owned and ran by a Wendy’s restaurant group out of a Wendy’s restaurant). Or, like in our area, you have restaurants doing business (cooking/prep) out of a community kitchen then having a delivery service transport the meal.

[@wolf-yw9wk]

end of day most food is terrible for delivery. there’s a reason dominoes spent so much on their delivery systems to keep their pizzas hot. instead you get some dude in a beat up honda figuring out how many pick up she can do n the way to drop your food off 45 min after it was cooked. soggy mediocre food delivered to your door.

[@shyamfootprints972]

They never rose. The only rise this ever saw was raising investor money. They were always falling, falling and falling.