This ghost kitchen serves up dishes for 10 restaurants – take a look inside
Grace Dean
Growth Kitchen operates two sites in London where each brand has its own facilities.Grace Dean/Insider
- Ghost kitchens allow brands to boost their delivery capacity without the expense of a new outlet.
- Growth Kitchen operates two sites in London where brands rent their own facilities.
Ever wonder where your restaurant chain takeout was actually cooked? There's a chance it wasn't actually made in one of their restaurants and was instead prepared in a "ghost kitchen".
A takeaway pizza. Aleksandr Zubkov/Getty Images
Source: Insider
I went behind inside Growth Kitchen, a London ghost kitchen company that provides space for restaurant brands to prepare dishes and increase their delivery capacity without the expense of a full-service restaurant.
The exterior of Growth Kitchen's site in Balham, south London. Grace Dean/Insider
Source: Insider
The ghost kitchen is located on an industrial estate in a residential area of London – not where you'd expect takeout orders to be made. Because they don't serve customers directly, ghost kitchens can be located away from high streets in areas with lower rents and less floor space.
The industrial estate that houses Growth Kitchen's Balham site. Grace Dean/Insider
The exterior of the building is largely nondescript. I arrived at 2:30 p.m., just after the lunch rush, though there were a few bikes parked outside.
The exterior of Growth Kitchen's site in Balham, London. Grace Dean/Insider
Delivery drivers collecting orders enter through the front door, which has a list of all the restaurant brands with kitchens there.
The exterior of Growth Kitchen's site in Balham, London. Grace Dean/Insider
Inside is space for drivers to sit while they wait for orders, as well as access to restrooms, phone chargers, and a water fountain. Growth Kitchen told Insider that drivers' welfare was important to the company.
Delivery drivers seated in Growth Kitchen's site in Balham, south London. Grace Dean/Insider
The building is based around two main corridors ...
The layout of Growth Kitchen's site in Balham, south London. Grace Dean/Insider
... with pickup windows for each brand. Looking inside, you can peek at their individual kitchen spaces.
A pickup window for delivery drivers to collect orders in Growth Kitchen's site in Balham, London. Grace Dean/Insider
The layouts of the kitchens vary. The company's founders told Insider that the kitchens are adapted to the needs of each brand.
A pickup window for delivery drivers to collect orders in Growth Kitchen's site in Balham, south London. Grace Dean/Insider
Whereas some other ghost facilities have brands share kitchens and even staff, Growth Kitchen has one for each outlet with staff hired directly by the chains. Shared kitchen space "is not the future," cofounder Máté Kun told Insider.
The layout of one of the kitchens in Growth Kitchen's site in Balham, south London. Grace Dean/Insider
Brands want to control their reputation and reduce risk by having their own kitchens and staff, said cofounder Tom Gatz. Because the kitchens are catered to each brand, having multiple staff working in one facility would ruin the flow, he said.
A pickup window for delivery drivers to collect orders in Growth Kitchen's site in Balham, London. Grace Dean/Insider
By operating ghost kitchens, staff can focus on order quality and speed without worrying about customer service, Gatz and Kun said. The company says that setting up a kitchen in one of their hubs is far cheaper and faster than a bricks-and-mortar restaurant.
A pickup window for delivery drivers to collect orders in Growth Kitchen's site in Balham, London. Grace Dean/Insider
In total, there are 10 brands at the Growth Kitchen hub I visited, which Gatz and Kun said collectively fulfill at least 800 orders a day.
A pickup window for delivery drivers to collect orders in Growth Kitchen's site in Balham, London. Grace Dean/Insider
Gatz and Kun said that there were criteria brands had to meet before getting a space in the kitchen, such as having a five-star food-hygiene rating and a commitment to sustainability, including packaging from recycled materials.
A sign showing a five-star food-hygiene rating in Growth Kitchen's site in Balham, south London. Grace Dean/Insider
The brands are all distinct, preparing cuisines ranging from Greek and Thai to Mexican and pizza. Growth Kitchen says this means they do not compete with each other directly.
Different brands being made at Growth Kitchen's site in Balham, London. Grace Dean/Insider
The brands can prepare orders for any delivery apps at the site, with the main three being Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat, but Kun said that Growth Kitchen is encouraging restaurants to use proprietary delivery channels instead to capture customer data.
The exterior of Growth Kitchen's site in Balham, London. Grace Dean/Insider
In exchange for kitchen space as well as access to Growth Kitchen's resources and data, Gatz and Kun said brands can pay a fixed fee and commission on sales, or just a commission, "depending on the needs of our restaurant brands and the nature of their business."
Growth Kitchen cofounders Tom Gatz and Máté Kun. Courtesy of Ted Lowney
As well as the Balham site I visited, Growth Kitchen has another in Bermondsey, with 10 outlets in each. Growth Kitchen plans to open 40 new sites over the next two years, including some outside London, and in April announced £3 million ($3.75 million) in seed funding.
The layout of Growth Kitchen's site in Balham, London. Grace Dean/Insider
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