3 ms·
> [Ari] Ojalvo, [C.E.O of Reef] cites his own experience in the restaurant industry... to note that opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant is high-risk and expen
by jt2190 6y ago
> [Ari] Ojalvo, [C.E.O of Reef] cites his own experience in the restaurant industry...
to note that opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant is high-risk and expensive, whereas ghost kitchens are lower-risk, offering a more affordable way for entrepreneurs to enter the business. In most cities, opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant requires a gauntlet of permits and inspections; restaurateurs waiting on permits might find themselves paying months of rent for space they aren’t yet allowed to use. Reef’s kitchens are registered as mobile food facilities, which tend to have fewer permitting requirements. Like the trailers themselves, the business details are configurable: Reef offers flexible staffing arrangements and short-term leases.
What’s interesting is that this is, in part, a response to things that aren’t as fast as the (increasingly online) marketplace itself, like finding a suitable storefront for a restaurant, building out a commercial kitchen, and all of the waiting for permits and licenses, which together impose a number of risks on a new business.
- dwater 6y agoI live in a small city, pop. 250k metro area 1M, and there is a local business news site that reports on openings, closings, and other local business news. It's more or less standard that when they announce a new restaurant, bar, or brewery opening the owner will state an expected opening date a month or two in the future, and then 3-6 months later a follow up story about how they are still 1-2 months from opening. It's almost always due to unexpected snags in the permitting and licensing process. There are many different local government agencies that have to sign off: zoning, permits & inspections/building, business license, health department, ABC, the fire marshal. And if any of those agencies requires you to make changes to the building or systems you have to go through permits & inspections again. It's a system that is not optimized for speed or efficiency.
- HPsquared 6y agoAnd people wonder why there are so many megacorp chain restaurants everywhere.