Should towns have a super "ghost" kitchen for all the fast food takeaways in the UK?

Posted by thenewfutureuk@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 31 comments

Trends in the UK indicate that the future is fast food delivery, people want their burger and fries delivered to them in the comfort of their own home. The problem is a lot of these premises are separate, what id we housed them all in one large super ghost kitchen where all of the brands live, like McDonald's, pizza hut, dominos, smaller independent fast food joints and McDonald's. It would be a large building where if you want to start a fast food joint you rent part of the kitchen. It would be more affordable so costs could come down for the customer. Delivery drivers would only have one location to go to and we could even devise an express drive thru for them so their bikes can be loaded with fast food for a speedy getaway. There could be a seating area attached so if people wanted to come in they could, and they could have anything on the menu across multiple brands. So if someone wanted a burger and a subway they totally could. Do you support this idea?

31 Comments

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RaymondBumcheese@reddit

It genuinely blows my mind that the likes of McDonalds, Costa and Greggs don’t have dark kitchens on an industrial estate somewhere and are instead happy to drive customers away from their stores and restaurants by making them as welcoming as an A&E waiting room.

forgotpassword_aga1n@reddit

>McDonalds They do have them. >Costa and Greggs Doesn't fit their business model.

They need more then. I’ve stopped going to my local McDonald’s because, other than the price hikes, the wait is now atrocious and it’s a pain in the arse park because of delivery drivers.

HMS_Hexapuma@reddit

It does have downsides. If there's a fire in the premises then it takes out all the takeaway food for a region. The big companies could essentially block competition by taking up all of the available space. I don't think they'd allow a seating area just because of all the regulations that go into a restaurant rather than just a commercial kitchen. It means that if you're on the wrong side of the town then you'll always have slow delivery as opposed to currently where there's probably at least one place close to you. I could see a council essentially saying that if you wanted to start a delivery kitchen business then it had to be in X industrial park and a licence to operate wouldn't be issued elsewhere but you could then also have people starting kitchens outside the city limits to avoid the requirement. Add in the fact that it would probably increase the cost of delivery food. People who owned space in that designated area could and would charge businesses a fortune because they have no choice but to be there. Tl;dr - I like the idea but I think it has a lot of opportunities for abuse and problems that would sink it.

AltforStrongOpinions@reddit

> If there's a fire in the premises then it takes out all the takeaway food for a region Oh no! This can't be allowed to happen. The slop must flow.

Ok_Aioli3897@reddit

I think that they should have ghost kitchens just for delivery and use the actual places to focus on dine in customers

Jaraxo@reddit

I mean, that's literally waht a ghost kitchen is.

Yes but OP suggested having seating etc turning it into just another restaurant

worldworn@reddit

This already exists for some placea

It should be everywhere since they only seem to care about delivery drivers and fast food is no longer fast

thierry_ennui_@reddit

Ghost kitchens are already a thing. I think this will create a traffic nightmare around the hub, and will end up being inaccessible to independents due to costs. It will end being a service station with Greg's, McDonald's, KFC and Burger King, but in the middle of a city. It won't improve anything.

Yeh where did OP think they got the term from, this literally already exists.

Otherwise_Koala4289@reddit

>Ghost kitchens are already a thing Yeah, when I lived in London this was really noticeable. So many takeaway options that just don't exist as actual places if you try to look them up.

WowzersTrousers0@reddit

It might work for several smaller takeaways to team up like this - Economy of scale and all that palaver. You might be onto something here, OP!

steveakacrush@reddit

Putting all the eggs in one basket - sounds ok but if something goes wrong at one then the rest are at risk. Pest infestation, food poisoning, fire... Any one of these could shut down the entire place - then what do we eat??

shnu62@reddit

Sounds soulless and hellish

So like a MaccyD then?

dobber72@reddit

Perfect.

split-tennisball@reddit

As opposed to the wholesome fast food we have now?

Tim-Sanchez@reddit

Seems like the Amazon equivalent of restaurants, and will kill them in the same way Amazon killed the high street. Having separate fast food restaurants in towns is a good thing rather than a problem in my opinion, I'd much prefer that than a warehouse on the outskirts with a seating area. That means more empty space in town centres and shopping centres.

Dissidant@reddit

I was honestly expecting something out of ghostbusters

coastalkid92@reddit

There was a ghost kitchen near where I lived in Toronto and it was great and super convenient. It allowed the fast food restaurants nearby service their direct customers without having to manage the takeaway service.

Calm-Treacle8677@reddit

They have these, it’s called a food court.

posh_chav@reddit

There’s something similar to this already near me, a Deliveroo hub or something I’m not sure of the exact name. It’s not got the big chains you mentioned as they have their own premises but a lot of small independents rent space there and I imagine it’s a lot cheaper than having their own shop.

Dont-settle-for-him@reddit

This would be open to abuse. And no accountability for food hygiene. It's better off that there are customer facing restaurants and unbranded kitchens that deliveries are made from. Same spec food, but no need for refit and redecorating, no need for counters and payment options. Just a screen, chefs and delivery guys

YouSayWotNow@reddit

Would probably be most popular for smaller brands but the big nationwide or global chains will likely prefer to control all elements of their production spaces, and can already leverage their size to reduce costs compared to the indies. Some of the meals at home businesses that appeared during the first couple of Covid lockdowns worked on the basis of a single kitchen space where they could create multiple meal boxes designed by different chefs but that's not quite the same thing. I mean there could still be benefits for the big brands too, since having different vendors sell/ deliver out of a single building means customers can order from multiple vendors but pay a single delivery charge, so the brands may well get extra orders that way (when most of the family/ gang want Chinese but one person fancies a McDs or whatever).

No, sounds like a stupid idea to me. One place where all food comes from means everyone who lives furthest away won't get served or guaranteed to have it cold. It means horrendous traffic in the area. It also means killing all private small food companies who can't afford to pay the same rates as the big chains.

I honestly really wouldn't care. If the food gets to me on time, warm and in a good state, that's all that matters. That being said, I don't really see the problem this is solving. Feels like a solution in search of a problem.

PeroniNinja84@reddit

I swear this sort of already happens with some Indian restaurants. Especially if they are a chain.

ResplendentBear@reddit

It's not the worst idea ever, but other than the delivery aspect I'm not sure how it's more efficient either. Plus you couldn't actually make companies use it, not without new laws.

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31 Comments