Kalanick’s CloudKitchens, Ideal Bet for Pandemic, Hits Snags

As Americans dine-out less and order-in more, “virtual kitchens” are emerging in dense metropolitan areas to house dozens of delivery-only concepts in converted warehouses. The biggest player in the US is CloudKitchens, backed with $150m from Uber founder and ex-CEO Travis Kalanick. Watch as we provide an inside look into these mysterious kitchens ... See more

One path is exemplified by CloudKitchens. At its core, CloudKitchens is simple: Build commercial kitchen spaces in less-trafficked areas and rent them out to operators to run delivery-only food businesses.

There’s work involved in making the shift to delivery and takeaway — time and money that a restaurant likely does not have to spend. In the best-case scenario, the model effectively turns restaurants into so-called “ghost kitchens,” eliminating the need for nearly all front-of-house staff. David Chang has called the pivot to delivery “fools gold.”

Warehouse woes only compounded an already dire situation: Joymode has struggled to build its customer base post-Series A, which Fernandez believes has scared off potential investors: "It's like you can feel their allergic reaction," he says, adding that WeWork's bungled August 2019 IPO hasn't helped him make his case. But WeWork may be a symptom ra... See more