4 ms·

Maybe it's just an irrational, emotion-based response, but I really prefer to order delivery from bricks and mortar restaurants I know and can walk into, and wh

Maybe it's just an irrational, emotion-based response, but I really prefer to order delivery from bricks and mortar restaurants I know and can walk into, and where it feels like they have a strong stake in their long-term reputation.

lnsru 7y ago
I share your opinion. I never went to a restaurant for a food alone. Environment, people working there, other guests are very important to me. This anonymous food delivery business is somehow scary. It got worse when I saw article about container kitchens in London: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/oct/28/deliveroo-dark-kitchens-pop-up-feeding-the-city-london https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/oct/28/deliveroo-d... I definitely don’t want such anonymous food, especially when it’s preparation conditions belong solely from people working there.
- crooked-v 7y ago
  > It got worse when I saw article about container kitchens in London: There's nothing new or scary about the concept of container kitchens. They've been used for catering, pop-up restaurants, disaster relief, etc for some time. > especially when it’s preparation conditions belong solely from people working there But that's most restaurants, considering that kitchens are usually separated from the customers.
- rebeccaskinner 7y ago
  As a point of comparison, I love eating out because I like trying new dishes or having foods that I might not be able to make at home, or just sometimes to be able to enjoy an evening without cooking. Still, I almost never go to restaurants these days because of the loud music that assaults my ears at nearly all of them. The environment is just completely intolerable. Having a delivery option means that there are far more options open to me than there would be otherwise, and I see the move toward these delivery only kitchens as a good thing- more places focused on making food rather than torturing their customers with acoustics that in most other settings would approach torture.
  - jessaustin 7y ago
    I know lots of people who feel the same way. Your comment made me wonder: now that people who don't like the sonic assault can still eat restaurant food, will restaurants make the noise even worse?
    - duxup 7y ago
      I think atmosphere / not being at home is still a big draw at restaurants. Maybe there aren't as many quiet ones out there as we'd like but they are out there.
      - jessaustin 7y ago
        One problem: when I hear "quiet atmosphere" I suspect that they're probably good at one or two banal dishes and seriously deficient at anything else. There are multiple "quiet atmosphere" restaurants in my area where I will never again order anything but the fried pork tenderloin sandwich. That's not because I particularly like fried pork tenderloin sandwiches, but rather because these places have either disgusted or sickened (or both!) me when I've ordered more "exotic" fare like salad, vegetables, pasta, or steak.
dcolkitt 7y ago
That's one perspective. But the other is that cloud kitchens drastically lower the barriers to entry by removing nearly all of the upfront capital costs. That gives young chefs more freedom to innovate and pursue their own vision. Rather than conforming to the risk-averse demands of capital investors. On an ecosystem level it also drastically increases the competitiveness of the local market. This may be overlooked by the predominately NYC/SF/LA crowd here, but many locales in American don't have many great restaurants. Lower barriers to entry increase competitive intensity. If you live in Peoria, IL and want to have Ethiopian for dinner, it's probably not a question of choosing an already established high-quality brick-and-mortar. It's most likely a mediocre low-quality monopoly, or maybe even no Ethiopian whatsoever.
- blackearl 7y ago
  If there was a way to WeWork a kitchen while still being able to have a health inspector validate everything's in order, that would be fine. The article only briefly touches on that, and I'm not sure how a grubhub/doordash would validate (or if they care). Until that's explained I'll stay away from the possibility of a fly-by-night restaurant.
  - zer00eyz 7y ago
    I understand your concern and it is valid, because as it stands there are plenty of ways to get around the heath inspection issue. However I suspect that this model will take off and the delivery apps will start to address your concerns. The southwest model (ever minute the plane isn't flying were loosing money) applies to kitchen space as well. Depending on your locale there is a lot of it out there being underutilized. Lots of places require that food trucks have (and many need) a physical location. Having that be in an out of the way place and NOT having to a retail side is a massive savings as the location can be "shared" and potentially come at a massive savings. Leveraging these same places for delivery only businesses (or in the case of one local truck a delivery option near the kitchen they use) has been a boon to all involved.
    - blackearl 7y ago
novok 7y ago
I feel like these rental kitchens are like food trucks & stands, a low cost way to startup a business and test a restaurant. If they are popular, they can often graduate to a full on restaurant location too.
mattmaroon 7y ago
Most ghost kitchens have that. I mean, you can't sit down and eat there, but they are more than happy to have you order it from them directly and skip the 30% fee Uber Eats charges. Most of them have something like ChowNow (which you can order from off of a Google search without ever even going to their website). Also many of them are food trucks, so they're still people you know if you're into the local food scene.

lnsru 7y ago

I share your opinion. I never went to a restaurant for a food alone. Environment, people working there, other guests are very important to me. This anonymous food delivery business is somehow scary. It got worse when I saw article about container kitchens in London: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/oct/28/deliveroo-dark-kitchens-pop-up-feeding-the-city-london https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/oct/28/deliveroo-d... I definitely don’t want such anonymous food, especially when it’s preparation conditions belong solely from people working there.

crooked-v 7y ago
> It got worse when I saw article about container kitchens in London: There's nothing new or scary about the concept of container kitchens. They've been used for catering, pop-up restaurants, disaster relief, etc for some time. > especially when it’s preparation conditions belong solely from people working there But that's most restaurants, considering that kitchens are usually separated from the customers.
rebeccaskinner 7y ago
As a point of comparison, I love eating out because I like trying new dishes or having foods that I might not be able to make at home, or just sometimes to be able to enjoy an evening without cooking. Still, I almost never go to restaurants these days because of the loud music that assaults my ears at nearly all of them. The environment is just completely intolerable. Having a delivery option means that there are far more options open to me than there would be otherwise, and I see the move toward these delivery only kitchens as a good thing- more places focused on making food rather than torturing their customers with acoustics that in most other settings would approach torture.
- jessaustin 7y ago
  I know lots of people who feel the same way. Your comment made me wonder: now that people who don't like the sonic assault can still eat restaurant food, will restaurants make the noise even worse?
  - duxup 7y ago
    I think atmosphere / not being at home is still a big draw at restaurants. Maybe there aren't as many quiet ones out there as we'd like but they are out there.
    - jessaustin 7y ago
      One problem: when I hear "quiet atmosphere" I suspect that they're probably good at one or two banal dishes and seriously deficient at anything else. There are multiple "quiet atmosphere" restaurants in my area where I will never again order anything but the fried pork tenderloin sandwich. That's not because I particularly like fried pork tenderloin sandwiches, but rather because these places have either disgusted or sickened (or both!) me when I've ordered more "exotic" fare like salad, vegetables, pasta, or steak.

dcolkitt 7y ago

That's one perspective. But the other is that cloud kitchens drastically lower the barriers to entry by removing nearly all of the upfront capital costs. That gives young chefs more freedom to innovate and pursue their own vision. Rather than conforming to the risk-averse demands of capital investors. On an ecosystem level it also drastically increases the competitiveness of the local market. This may be overlooked by the predominately NYC/SF/LA crowd here, but many locales in American don't have many great restaurants. Lower barriers to entry increase competitive intensity. If you live in Peoria, IL and want to have Ethiopian for dinner, it's probably not a question of choosing an already established high-quality brick-and-mortar. It's most likely a mediocre low-quality monopoly, or maybe even no Ethiopian whatsoever.

blackearl 7y ago
If there was a way to WeWork a kitchen while still being able to have a health inspector validate everything's in order, that would be fine. The article only briefly touches on that, and I'm not sure how a grubhub/doordash would validate (or if they care). Until that's explained I'll stay away from the possibility of a fly-by-night restaurant.
- zer00eyz 7y ago
  I understand your concern and it is valid, because as it stands there are plenty of ways to get around the heath inspection issue. However I suspect that this model will take off and the delivery apps will start to address your concerns. The southwest model (ever minute the plane isn't flying were loosing money) applies to kitchen space as well. Depending on your locale there is a lot of it out there being underutilized. Lots of places require that food trucks have (and many need) a physical location. Having that be in an out of the way place and NOT having to a retail side is a massive savings as the location can be "shared" and potentially come at a massive savings. Leveraging these same places for delivery only businesses (or in the case of one local truck a delivery option near the kitchen they use) has been a boon to all involved.
  - blackearl 7y ago

novok 7y ago

I feel like these rental kitchens are like food trucks & stands, a low cost way to startup a business and test a restaurant. If they are popular, they can often graduate to a full on restaurant location too.

mattmaroon 7y ago

Most ghost kitchens have that. I mean, you can't sit down and eat there, but they are more than happy to have you order it from them directly and skip the 30% fee Uber Eats charges. Most of them have something like ChowNow (which you can order from off of a Google search without ever even going to their website). Also many of them are food trucks, so they're still people you know if you're into the local food scene.