Restaurant Glossary
Cloud Kitchen
Restaurant space is full of words that one might not be familiar with, and the restaurant glossary is here to simplify it all for you. It will help you keep up with updated restaurant industry lingo.
What is a cloud kitchen?
A cloud kitchen often described as a ‘ghost kitchen’ or ‘virtual kitchen’ is a type of commercial kitchen where food establishments can produce their menu items for takeout and delivery. Contrary to conventional brick-and-mortar establishments, cloud kitchens enable the production and delivery of food products with low overhead.
A cloud kitchen is a delivery-only eatery with no actual dining area. It only accepts orders placed online using online food aggregators, websites, or mobile apps that support online ordering.
Cloud kitchen business models
The same operating procedure is used by all cloud kitchens: after receiving an order, food is made and delivered to the customer’s door. There is a distinction in how their operations are carried out, though. These eateries exclusively offer delivery using a variety of business approaches.
Standalone Cloud Kitchens – These are separate kitchens without a dining area where one brand owns or hires a single kitchen location.
Multi-brand Cloud kitchen – In this business model, various brands that are owned by the same parent firm share a single kitchen, which lowers operating expenses
Commissary (Aggregator) Kitchen – Making use of the thriving internet delivery market, numerous delivery aggregators have launched their own cloud cooking models, renting out vacant kitchen space and basic infrastructure to restaurant operators.
Outsourced Cloud Kitchen- This concept enables a restaurant to outsource all except the final touches of nearly every procedure. Before the food is sent out for delivery, the chef gives it one more polish.
A Coworking Cloud Kitchen- It is a sizable kitchen infrastructure that many different restaurant companies can rent and use for their operations. These culinary areas are strategically placed, and each brand’s kitchen unit is equipped with the essential tools and amenities
Benefits of a cloud kitchen
- Low Operational Costs – For a cloud kitchen, many of the expenses associated with running a typical restaurant are eliminated. With less labor and infrastructure, a cloud kitchen can be built to be a very lean business, allowing for a low-risk endeavor.
- Less Human Resources Needed – Opening a cloud kitchen just requires one-third of the time and resources of opening a regular dine-in restaurant because you don’t need to rent a restaurant in a prime location or recruit people to serve guests.
- High-Profit Venture – Starting a cloud kitchen is feasible with little to no employees, little to no kitchen equipment, no furniture expense, and no décor cost.
- Simple Expansion – Because the operation is only a kitchen, the total Capex cost is far cheaper than for a full-fledged restaurant.