How did this industrial estate become one of the busiest restaurant locations in the UK?
We delve into the myth behind the UK's growing 'ghost' restaurant scene.
Would you believe us if we told you that one of the busiest restaurant locations in the UK was situated in a faceless industrial estate in south-east London?
All within a single postcode district in south Bermondsey, you can find the latest outposts of some of London’s top restaurants. But, there’s one major difference – these restaurants are missing front-of-house staff, seating and even an entrance. Weirder still, you might have eaten food from one of these locations without even knowing. Welcome to the ‘ghost’ restaurant.
Dubbed also as ‘dark’, ‘headless’ and ‘cloud’ restaurants, these rather ominous-sounding establishments are actually terms for commercial delivery-only kitchens. You may have heard these names cropping up in conversations recently, due to the sheer number of them occupying spaces in the UK’s ever-growing cities, as the demand for food delivery services is growing significantly.
Although it’s assumed that consumers are looking to cut back on non-essential spend in 2023 – and eating out and takeaways fall into this category – according to KPMG, research shows that public appetite for food delivery services is higher than it’s ever been before, with nearly a third (31 per cent) of consumers saying they have at least one takeaway a week. This rises to a significant 58 per cent in London. The average spend per person in the UK also rose by 42 per cent over two years, from £452 in 2019 to £641 in 2021.
So, with the rise in demand for fast food and quick takeaways, it’s not surprising that traditional brick and mortar restaurants need to find a solution to cater for both guests of the restaurant – guests who dine in and takeaway customers who choose to order food from delivery apps.
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The addition of these commercial kitchens to restaurants means that the traffic of dine-in orders and takeaways are completely segregated. Traditional high street locations can concentrate on dine-in trade with fewer takeaway orders during busy periods, which reduces wait times (not forgetting the benefit of additional service charge fees).
Meanwhile, the ghost locations can cater restaurant-quality food to new locations, as well as lessen the swarm of delivery bikes away from the high streets. Diverting food delivery drivers away from central locations to industrial sites not only mitigates traffic congestion in busy areas, it means the delivery drivers can pick up multiple orders from one location.
Ghost restaurants are saving busy cities from added exhaust fumes and pleasing takeaway customers with a shorter delivery time on their fried chicken. What's not to like?
And, while you may feel a little ‘tricked’ by ordering your favourite dishes from somewhere that’s just a controlled kitchen rather than the restaurant itself, it does come with its benefits for both consumers as well as the industry. The ghost establishments essentially act as a collective space for restaurants. Having all restaurants in one confined and controlled space means higher hygiene standards, higher food safety ratings and better takeaway packaging standards. It also offers better value for money for restaurants, as it means they are not paying high street rent prices to service the takeaway market.
So, next time you are looking to order a takeaway from your favourite restaurant, your food may be prepared in a ghost restaurant on an industrial estate, but we don’t think this is such a scary thought anymore.
