Four Reasons to Consider a Virtual Kitchen Now | Modern Restaurant Management | The Business of Eating & Restaurant Management News

The devastating effects of restaurants during COVID-19 cannot be understated. According to recent data published by Yelp, 26,000 restaurants have permanently closed due to COVID-19. Here in Colorado alone, 62 percent of Colorado restaurants say they will be forced to consider closing permanently in the next six months under current or worsened conditions, according to the Colorado Restaurant Association.

However, many of the food industry problems that have been exacerbated by the pandemic, have been aggressively simmering under the surface for years. Restaurants must overcome many challenges to stay afloat, and even more to become successful: high rent, rising labor costs, razor thin margins, and high overhead cost.

To combat these problems, many European countries, as well as China, India, the Middle East and other regions of the world, have been leveraging “virtual kitchens,” delivery-only concepts with no physical dine-in space, for years. The U.S., though late to the game…

Nili Malach Poynter

ChefReady’s President Nili Malach Poynter has spent more than 17 years at the intersection of entrepreneurship, data and technology, growing a highly successful business, Vinyl Interactive, in a competitive market. She and her husband are doing the same with Denver’s ChefReady, which is slated to open late fall 2020. In 2018, Nili and her husband Robert witnessed friends’ traditional brick-and-mortar restaurants shutter one after another, due to rising costs, low foot traffic, and low profit margins. They began looking for a solution and were excited to hear about “virtual”, or “ghost” kitchens, but quickly learned that many operate with a “churn and burn” mentality, resulting in an unprofitably high turnover of tenants. Nili and Robert wanted to instead create a company that offers the convenience of a ghost kitchen, but with greater efficiency and a “greener” footprint, along with more of a “mom and pop” personalized level of customer service.

Sorry, You've Reached Your Article Limit.

Nili Malach Poynter