Ghost kitchens - do you care?

[ExtraSlow]

Sparked by articles in the globe and mail and cbc, I've been thinking about "ghost kitchens" where the food you order from a deliver app like uber eats or skip the dishes might come from a kitchen that prepares multiple cuisines and has no dining room.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/busi...very-grows-in/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...gary-1.4989791

It kind of rubs me the wrong way. I like to feel a sense of connection to the places that serve my food, and I like to eat there at least once before I try getting delivery or pickup.

Maybe I'm just old-school. What do you folks say?

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

If it makes the food cheaper, due to lower costs, I'm all for it. My only concern is that sometimes I don't want to get it delivered, because a $4 delivery charge and then tip on top is BS for a 1.3km drive, so I just grab it myself. So as long as I can still pick it up myself, I'm fine.

[Mitsu3000gt]

I definitely care what kitchen is making my food - the more anonymity they get the sketchier it will be come and the harder it will be to accurately interpret reviews. Seems like a ploy to hide from bad reviews and get away with lowering quality by adding a layer of separation to the accountability side of things.

[Swank]

Doesn't seem any different than what most pizza places have been doing forever, just more variety of food

[ExtraSlow]

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I definitely care what kitchen is making my food - the more anonymity they get the sketchier it will be come and the harder it will be to accurately interpret reviews. Seems like a ploy to hide from bad reviews and get away with lowering quality by adding a layer of separation to the accountability side of things.

I hadn't considered the review thing. If one of the dozen restaurants gets bad reviews, just "close" that menu and start a new one.

[Buster]

sounds like a great idea

[JordanEG6]

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Doesn't seem any different than what most pizza places have been doing forever, just more variety of food

I thought about this as well. Pizza Hut and Little Caesar's have been doing this for years. I don't see how this is a bad idea as long as they prepare the food with the same standards and practices as a functional dine-in restaurant.

[Mitsu3000gt]

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I hadn't considered the review thing. If one of the dozen restaurants gets bad reviews, just "close" that menu and start a new one.

Yeah exactly. And the bad kitchens might negatively affect the reviews of the good kitchens. Just seems like terrible idea in my opinion. Pump out garbage food until you get shut down, then just start up again.

[Disoblige]

It's a little bit misrepresentation to be honest. Let's face it, would you eat at a place that service Chinese, Indian, Mexican, and Western food? Probably not, just with the simple idea that most "chefs" don't cook multiple cuisines well.

[Swank]

[Xtrema]

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It kind of rubs me the wrong way. I like to feel a sense of connection to the places that serve my food, and I like to eat there at least once before I try getting delivery or pickup.

Am I reading this wrong or do these restaurant only exists on these apps only?

If you want UberEats to fetch food from Maxboost to support him, you still can. They are basically take out restaurants that exist online only.

Now I think about it more, it's basically this:
https://www.zomato.com/calgary/tropi...northwest/menu

Laska - take out only, so I kinda been eating from a ghost kitchen....

[Mista Bob]

This is the perfect business model for every owner out there who aspires to lower their standards even further. Now they don't have to worry about pesky things like reputation getting in the way. Just slap a new name on the app and you are good to go all over again.

[lilmira]

I don't like it not because they don't do dine in. It just sounds like food factory where the food is either super bland or subpar. Take out only food place like mom and pop setup is fine otherwise.

[Buster]

I think you will find that these owners have an incentive to build up a history of positive reputation in the marketplace.

[speedog]

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I don't like it not because they don't do dine in. It just sounds like food factory where the food is either super bland or subpar. Take out only food place like mom and pop setup is fine otherwise.

The pizza place we regularly order from has no sit down area - it is strictly take out. Does that mean you and extraslow would never try them out, Bow Tie Pizza by the way?

[ExtraSlow]

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The pizza place we regularly order from has no sit down area - it is strictly take out. Does that mean you and extraslow would never try them out, Bow Tie Pizza by the way?

I've ordered from bow tie. If they also served cabbage rolls, won tons, pho and hipster salads I would be worried.

[lilmira]

Whaaa?

[ExtraSlow]

What? I walked in, looked around, chatted with the worker (owner maybe?) when I was choosing what pizza I wanted, and then went back when it was ready and chatted with the guy again. The next time, I did phone my order in to them.

That's a lot different than some anonymous unbranded place you can only order from with an app. Or it is to me anyway. Maybe that makes me

[lilmira]

sorry, that was meant for speedog's response to mine

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I don't like it not because they don't do dine in. It just sounds like food factory where the food is either super bland or subpar. Take out only food place like mom and pop setup is fine otherwise.

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The pizza place we regularly order from has no sit down area - it is strictly take out. Does that mean you and extraslow would never try them out, Bow Tie Pizza by the way?

[speedog]

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sorry, that was meant for speedog's response to mine

Yupp, apparently my comprehension skills were absent. And I wasn't even messed up on anything, just old I guess.