Cloud kitchens enjoyed a slow but steady rise in popularity among business owners, even before COVID-19 arrived. With self-isolation now the norm as we all try to flatten the curve, more people order in which means that many restaurants function like cloud kitchens anyway: They only offer delivery, not dine-in services or pick-up, so they operate solely out of rented kitchen space with no physical location for customers to visit. Click here to learn more about what cloud kitchens do and how they work.
With these establishments just as unsure as traditional restaurants if they’ll stay afloat through the month, here are 5 Los Angeles-based cloud kitchens you can support from the safety of your home:
1. Canter’s Deli
Though this restaurant has a home base that (usually) offers dine-in, in recent years they noticed the trend of online orders and subsequently opened several cloud kitchens across West L.A. and Pasadena. Since they tout an interesting combination of deli, bakery and bar items, you can guarantee something on the menu will catch your eye.
2. Fritzi Coop
Fried chicken makes anything bettereven social distancing and self-isolation. Based in the Original Farmer’s Market, they not only service that area of L.A. but they’re also on Grubhub so they can reach even more satisfied customers.
3. The Pizza Plant
This all-vegan pizza restaurant also stocks product at Whole Foods so you can pick it up from the store or order from the company directly. They also have a food truck that drives to different areas so they can reach even more customers.
4. Chino
This restaurant owner actually closed down his physical locations to go completely virtual back in 2017. Now he offers Asian-Mexican style food right to your door. He also operates Brekkie Breakfast Burritos and The B.E.C., both of which are delivery-only as well. From breakfast burritos to rice bowls, chef Eric Greenspan has all your cravings covered.
5. Ghost Pizza Kitchen
The name says it all: This virtual restaurant offers great pizzas as well as wings and salads to cater to all of your Italian food cravings. They also offer pick-up, which most cloud kitchens don’t do. While the coronavirus continues to spread, though, we recommend sticking to delivery for now.
As cloud kitchens proliferate, more ventures crop up to facilitate this innovative business model. For example: CloudKitchens, an operation founded by Uber’s cofounder, Travis Kalanick, opened a chain of kitchen spaces that small businesses can rent. These spaces can host multiple companies at the same time, allowing for more cloud kitchens to operate out of any given area. Others have decided to capitalize on this opportunity as well; Kitopi, for example, hosts a platform that helps restaurants open and manage delivery-only service locations. As cloud kitchens grow, you can bet the industry will also change to accommodate thembut only if they stay open long enough to weather this storm.
While we all shut ourselves inside and prepare to fight the spread of COVID-19 long-term, we can still support local restaurants by ordering delivery and giving them the profits needed to survive the coming weeks. Check out some local cloud kitchens that you can support in your area!
