Dark kitchens: the future of delivery restaurants?

The delivery restaurant world is continually in motion. As well as technological developments, changing needs and desires within the target group have a strong influence on the market. The combination of a decrease in the need to eat out and the possibility of keeping a whole restaurant running online have resulted in a new phenomenon: dark kitchens.

What is a dark kitchen?

Perhaps you have heard the term dark kitchen in passing, since it is already a proven concept abroad. Dark kitchens have been in existence for some time now in the United Kingdom, Germany and Singapore But what is a dark kitchen exactly?

Dark kitchens are known under many names and are also called cloud kitchens, virtual kitchens, delivery-only restaurants and Ghost restaurants. These names, in fact, mean the same thing: a restaurant without physical location, that only consists of a kitchen and a website or link with a delivery service such as Thuisbezorgd, Deliveroo or Uber Eats. Customers do not have to come to this restaurant to eat out or to pick up their order. In fact, it functions as a meal web-shop.

Dark kitchens are also beginning to catch on in the Netherlands and this is not so strange, since the concept has many benefits for restaurant owners.

The benefits of a dark kitchen.

The fact that a dark kitchen has no physical location holds many advantages. In contrast to a typical restaurant, a dark kitchen does not need an expensive, stylishly decorated building in a hip neighbourhood to be successful. Therefore, owners can look out for cheap buildings and locations outside the city centre, which saves a lot of expense.

Additionally, dark kitchens are a little more flexible. This makes it possible to run multiple restaurants from one kitchen. You can simultaneously find a pasta restaurant, pizzeria, sushi kitchen and vegan snack-bar in one dark kitchen. Furthermore, the online focus of dark kitchens offers them the possibility to continuously adjust their menu and strategy based on online reviews.

Is one of the restaurants not going well? You can then simply replace the concept with a new idea. Is the dish not to one’s liking? This can then be easily adjusted or scrapped. Thus, dark kitchens can always respond to the current needs within their delivery area.

The challenges for a dark kitchen.

This flexibility brings, however, a number of challenges. This way the administration does not get any easier and it becomes more and more difficult to maintain an overview. It can already be difficult enough to get on top of all the orders of one restaurant, not to mention seven simultaneously. Good delivery software is therefore also essential for the sustainability of a dark kitchen.

CashDesk delivery software

Dark kitchens are becoming increasingly more popular and could well become the future of delivery restaurants. However, certain challenges must then be overcome. CashDesk delivery software helps owners of dark kitchens with this, it allows them to centrally track all the orders of all their restaurants.

Whether you are currently using Thuisbezorgd, Deliveroo, or your own deliverers; with the delivery software of CashDesk you keep track of everything. Furthermore, you can make the delivery process even more efficient by linking to our delivery app, with which you and your deliverers always know what they are at.