Delivery-only 'ghost' kitchens flourish during pandemic

You can't eat there or collect your meal. But so-called ghost kitchens, which only prepare food for delivery, are booming in the United States during the pandemic.

Don't look for a Firebelly Wings or a Monster Mac restaurant anywhere in America because you won't find their signs on any street.

Instead, their chicken wings or macaroni and cheese are found via smartphones. The new brands, like dozens of others, were invented solely for delivery.

Their dishes are prepared in "ghost" kitchens, hidden commercial spaces closed to the public.

The trend, sometimes called "dark" kitchens, has been around for a couple of years but is enjoying a huge boost due to coronavirus shutdowns.

"Consumer behavior has been altered by COVID-19," said a spokesperson for Nextbite, an operator of ghost kitchens.

"Consumers who had never ordered from delivery platforms have adopted the convenience."

Restaurants closed for months, others open with reduced capacity, customers preferring to eat at home for fear of infection: everything has been pointing towards increased demand for delivery.

DoorDash, the leading food delivery platform in the U.S. with 47 percent market share, handled 543 million orders between January and September, a three-fold increase on last year.

"It's capitalizing a lot on the restaurants that have closed. But at the same time there's new demand created too," said R.J. Hottovy, director of financial analytics at global restaurant consultancy firm Aaron Allen & Associates.

Zuul, C3, Kitchen United and CloudKitchens, headed by Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick, offer restaurateurs kitchens - sometimes fully equipped - along with technical support to manage orders and advice on developing their brands.