What do you think of corporate chain restaurants renaming themselves and popping up at ghost kitchens on delivery apps?
What do you think of corporate chain restaurants renaming themselves and popping up at ghost kitchens on delivery apps?
by oddball_1925
25 Comments
Contango_4eva
I stopped ordering from delivery apps since it got too expensive. Now that we can go out to eat, I’d rather do that.
oddball_1925
I asked this here and in r/AskReddit because I noticed something in another city that I hadn’t seen here.
I generally love the ghost kitchen idea for start up brands or young chef’s who want to build a brand and eventually launch a truck or a brick-and-mortar. I’ve been giddy to try the different places in them when they pop up.
My intro to the concept came from Bronzed Aussie on Robertson and NY Chicken & Gyro on SMB.
However, someone else has noticed the concept and it’s bad enough that they’ve invaded the space, but they’re doing so disingenuously.
I was just looking for food to have delivered to my grandma back east. I was looking at the menus and they were all these kitschy sounding names clearly aimed at millenials and gen z. Once you start reading the menu you realize that “Hootie’s Bait & Tackle” is just Hooters, and “Pasqually’s Pizza & Pasta” is Chuck E Cheese.
Now I don’t know that the ghost kitchen concept was created *for* start up restaurants and young chef’s, but something about a corporation using a fake name to sell low quality, reheated frozen food feels counterfeit and dirty. I don’t like it. If I could I’d ban them altogether. Stay in your lane, Applebees.
greggo2022
It’s pretty obvious which ones they are (you’ve never heard of the place and it doesn’t show up on google maps) and companies rebrand all the time. Like anything else, if you like it then get it if you don’t then don’t.
detentionbarn
I never eat in those bricks and mortar restaurants so I’m not missing out on anything by not ordering from their spinoffs.
That said, I suppose for many that use delivery services food is good regardless of the ‘brand.’ My neighbor orders single glasses of OJ delivered, I don’t think he’s brand sensitive LOL
dedodelobo
I found this video pretty interesting on ghost kitchens. Mainly focuses on the corporate takeover of them
Is it any different from seeing products at the grocery store called something like Farmer Jim’s Small Batch Hippie Granola and really it’s just General Mills?
BunnyCatLove
I typically don’t try a restaurant for the first time by ordering it for delivery. If I’m ordering something like a sandwich or American sushi, I don’t mind it coming from a ghost kitchen because I’m just ordering it to fill my stomache, not for it to taste good.
I think it’s kind of scummy but I feel like it’s an inevitability that corporations will seek out ways to maximize their profit.
If it’s something you’re concerned about, you can always look up the address of the purported restaurant.
High_Life_Pony
From a business perspective, it’s pretty ingenious. You have the staff, you have the product, you just need to drive traffic from another avenue. As a consumer, it is pretty off putting. Imagine the power of brand recognition. Now imagine a situation where hiding your brand from the consumer works in your favor… Looking at you Pasqually… I used to work at The Grove a few years back, and felt sorry for the delivery drivers. So many poor guys (many of whom spoke little English) looking up and down the whole mall for “Just Wings” or “Just Pies” after parking who knows where and wandering around the whole place, and I’m like dude, it’s Maggiano’s…
fiddlefigtree
I hope that ghost kitchens offer pop ups, street food and other cottage kitchen vendors the opportunity to reach more customers via delivery apps. From what I know corporate chains create ghost kitchens to fill existing kitchen capacity and keep their staffs hours/employment. Take Dennys for example, they’re busiest in the mornings for their well known breakfast. They have a bunch of open kitchen capacity throughout the rest of the day so they launch these virtual concepts on delivery apps to try to fill that. If the corporate chains are doing this it doesn’t seem so bad.
TPlinkerG35
Don’t like it. Thrilled Cheese is just IHOP.
ceehouse
i remember wanting to try this wing spot i found on one of the apps, but when i went to look up reviews elsewhere, i saw people mentioning that it was just chili’s wings branded as a ghost kitchen. ugh.
inri_inri
What do it think? It needs to stop. Corporations need to be dismantled and power returned to the people to innovate and cap growth so everyone can participate without 10B in seed money to pursues their dreams and security.
Thats_So_Ravenous
Straight to jail.
seekinganswers1010
I used to look up places from Grubhub or Doordash on Yelp or Google, but wouldn’t find anything, and then would look up the address, and find out it was Denny’s. It just makes me feel taken advantage of. Like for two seconds, I wanted Denny’s…
Eh_YouVotedForHim
Stupid people don’t care. Otherwise I think it is gross.
imnowherebenice
I remember Chuck E Cheese doing this with some weird ass name during Covid and goddamn I felt bad that they were considered an “essential business”
whyioughtta
I always yelp the place when I see their location on the map is suspect. Often at night you’ll see a smattering of places that are open late that are all the same location. Easy to vet.
dent_de_lion
Wow. Had no idea this was happening. Good to know!
Apprehensive_Copy458
Hell no
Nilknarfsherman
You can usually spot them since there will be about 10-15 restaurants on whichever app youre using that all have the same address. Near me it’s 615 Western Avenue. Avoid any place with that address.
bigdipper80
These ghost kitchens always have names that sound like they were generated by ChatGPT. I’d say I’m shocked at how many people fall for them, but then again I’m well aware the average intelligence of people these days.
Sudden_Owl1357
I do not see what is the problem if you do like the food. Yes, it was “generic” burger but it will be just as consistent next time…
IAmPandaRock
I think it’s a weird move. Who’s ordering from a place they’ve bever heard of, that has little to no reviews and certainly no buzz?
incominghottake
LOL grilled cheese heaven is Canters deli tryin to be slick
25 Comments
I stopped ordering from delivery apps since it got too expensive. Now that we can go out to eat, I’d rather do that.
I asked this here and in r/AskReddit because I noticed something in another city that I hadn’t seen here.
I generally love the ghost kitchen idea for start up brands or young chef’s who want to build a brand and eventually launch a truck or a brick-and-mortar. I’ve been giddy to try the different places in them when they pop up.
My intro to the concept came from Bronzed Aussie on Robertson and NY Chicken & Gyro on SMB.
However, someone else has noticed the concept and it’s bad enough that they’ve invaded the space, but they’re doing so disingenuously.
I was just looking for food to have delivered to my grandma back east. I was looking at the menus and they were all these kitschy sounding names clearly aimed at millenials and gen z. Once you start reading the menu you realize that “Hootie’s Bait & Tackle” is just Hooters, and “Pasqually’s Pizza & Pasta” is Chuck E Cheese.
Now I don’t know that the ghost kitchen concept was created *for* start up restaurants and young chef’s, but something about a corporation using a fake name to sell low quality, reheated frozen food feels counterfeit and dirty. I don’t like it. If I could I’d ban them altogether. Stay in your lane, Applebees.
It’s pretty obvious which ones they are (you’ve never heard of the place and it doesn’t show up on google maps) and companies rebrand all the time. Like anything else, if you like it then get it if you don’t then don’t.
I never eat in those bricks and mortar restaurants so I’m not missing out on anything by not ordering from their spinoffs.
That said, I suppose for many that use delivery services food is good regardless of the ‘brand.’ My neighbor orders single glasses of OJ delivered, I don’t think he’s brand sensitive LOL
I found this video pretty interesting on ghost kitchens. Mainly focuses on the corporate takeover of them
https://youtu.be/KkIkymh5Ayg
It’s a free market economy.
Is it any different from seeing products at the grocery store called something like Farmer Jim’s Small Batch Hippie Granola and really it’s just General Mills?
I typically don’t try a restaurant for the first time by ordering it for delivery. If I’m ordering something like a sandwich or American sushi, I don’t mind it coming from a ghost kitchen because I’m just ordering it to fill my stomache, not for it to taste good.
I think it’s kind of scummy but I feel like it’s an inevitability that corporations will seek out ways to maximize their profit.
If it’s something you’re concerned about, you can always look up the address of the purported restaurant.
From a business perspective, it’s pretty ingenious. You have the staff, you have the product, you just need to drive traffic from another avenue. As a consumer, it is pretty off putting. Imagine the power of brand recognition. Now imagine a situation where hiding your brand from the consumer works in your favor… Looking at you Pasqually… I used to work at The Grove a few years back, and felt sorry for the delivery drivers. So many poor guys (many of whom spoke little English) looking up and down the whole mall for “Just Wings” or “Just Pies” after parking who knows where and wandering around the whole place, and I’m like dude, it’s Maggiano’s…
I hope that ghost kitchens offer pop ups, street food and other cottage kitchen vendors the opportunity to reach more customers via delivery apps. From what I know corporate chains create ghost kitchens to fill existing kitchen capacity and keep their staffs hours/employment. Take Dennys for example, they’re busiest in the mornings for their well known breakfast. They have a bunch of open kitchen capacity throughout the rest of the day so they launch these virtual concepts on delivery apps to try to fill that. If the corporate chains are doing this it doesn’t seem so bad.
Don’t like it. Thrilled Cheese is just IHOP.
i remember wanting to try this wing spot i found on one of the apps, but when i went to look up reviews elsewhere, i saw people mentioning that it was just chili’s wings branded as a ghost kitchen. ugh.
What do it think? It needs to stop. Corporations need to be dismantled and power returned to the people to innovate and cap growth so everyone can participate without 10B in seed money to pursues their dreams and security.
Straight to jail.
I used to look up places from Grubhub or Doordash on Yelp or Google, but wouldn’t find anything, and then would look up the address, and find out it was Denny’s. It just makes me feel taken advantage of. Like for two seconds, I wanted Denny’s…
Stupid people don’t care. Otherwise I think it is gross.
I remember Chuck E Cheese doing this with some weird ass name during Covid and goddamn I felt bad that they were considered an “essential business”
I always yelp the place when I see their location on the map is suspect. Often at night you’ll see a smattering of places that are open late that are all the same location. Easy to vet.
Wow. Had no idea this was happening. Good to know!
Hell no
You can usually spot them since there will be about 10-15 restaurants on whichever app youre using that all have the same address. Near me it’s 615 Western Avenue. Avoid any place with that address.
These ghost kitchens always have names that sound like they were generated by ChatGPT. I’d say I’m shocked at how many people fall for them, but then again I’m well aware the average intelligence of people these days.
I do not see what is the problem if you do like the food. Yes, it was “generic” burger but it will be just as consistent next time…
I think it’s a weird move. Who’s ordering from a place they’ve bever heard of, that has little to no reviews and certainly no buzz?
LOL grilled cheese heaven is Canters deli tryin to be slick