Virtual restaurant

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A virtual restaurant, also known as a ghost kitchen, cloud kitchen or dark kitchen, is a food service business that serves customers exclusively by delivery and pick-up based on phone and online ordering.^[1] Virtual restaurants are stand-alone businesses that either operate out of an existing restaurant's kitchen or from a separate kitchen set-up away from a restaurant.^[2][3][4] By not having a full-service restaurant with a storefront and dining room, virtual restaurants can economize by occupying cheaper real estate.^[5][6] The reduced space lowers overall overhead and operational costs, thus yielding higher profit margins, as the price of the food provided is typically not changed.^[7] The virtual restaurant's single kitchen format allows for multiple brands to share kitchen space.^[2][8][9]