Ghost Kitchens Are Ending Quicker Than My Parents Marriage

Just like when you get divorced and blame the kids, Ghost Kitchens are divorcing from business and we can blame us, the consumers. For a while, Ghost Kitchens actually seemed like they were going to be a hit. The cook only restaurants popped up at the perfect time and lead some to believe it would be a “71.4B” dollar industry by 2027, what fucking moron predicted that? Anyway, these Ghost Kitchens were a hit and then quickly fell out of the public eye once we kind of found out as a society that pandemic we faced might have been crea---- gonna stop right there.

The fidget spinner of restaurant concepts really took off and then fell back to the earth like a cocaine high and there’s none left in the bag. Break it open and lick the sides for nummies you coward. Ok, but really companies like Reef, Kitchen United, and the biggest hit Applebee’s Cosmic Wings all were pumping from 2019 up until about the end of 2022 and the start of 2023.

Kitchen United alone raised nearly 200 milli just to close 44% of their locations not even five years later. Wendy’s teamed up with Reef to produce a Ghost Kitchen concept, announcing plans to open 700 locations. Guess where those plans went? Where yours probably went to, into the ether and to never be reclaimed again.  Applebee’s aka Grizzlebee’s also had launched a concept called Cosmic Wings. Applebee’s being the innovators that they are put most Cosmic Wings INSIDE their store like some beautiful sequel to Inception. However just last year they announced they would halt the project all together. Probably because 1 dollar Long Island Ice Tea’s are revolutionary enough. But also because the entire dining industry wasn’t seeing the results predicted from these concepts. Ah, hindsight what a wonderful bastard.

All in all, it looks like the Ghost Kitchen concept at least on a national chain-scale is not going to happen any time soon. Not saying it will never happen, these businesses very well could make a comeback. Just like Ralphie May….. goddammit wrong celebrity. Ghost Kitchens failed due to lack of structure, poor delivery, and a subpar focus. Just like my dad 😊. So what? Ghost Kitchens failed, it might be like a phoenix rising from the ashes in a few years to float amongst the giants as a god in itself!......... but probably not. That’s my take on it, until next time.----GS