Ghost Restaurants and the Impact on Commercial Real Estate

A hot, new restaurant concept is taking off in densely populated cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., but don’t try to make a reservation or stop in to grab a bite to eat. These restaurants have no dining areas, no storefronts and no wait staff. They’re “ghost restaurants” or “virtual restaurants” – and are delivery only. They allow restaurateurs to diversify or expand with little overhead or test out new concepts.

Food delivery apps like DoorDash, Grubhub and Ubereats are fueling the increase in the number of ghost restaurants and ghost kitchens, because most utilize existing, third-party delivery services. These online delivery services can provide marketing for virtual eateries, so they don’t need a storefront to generate takeout orders...