Our team
Our global real estate team has over 200 members. Here is a sample of our world-class talent.
James Kite
Head of Global Real Estate
James orchestrates all facets of acquisition, design, construction, and growth, demonstrating exceptional prowess in adapting to the needs of each market. With a notable stint at Tesla as Head of Development for Asia-Pacific, James guided expansion efforts, establishing retail infrastructure and managing market entry strategies across multiple countries. As the leader of our organization, he fosters synergy among teams to deliver optimal service to our clients.
Vince Johnston
Building Engineering
Vince and his team have masterfully engineered, innovated, and continually refined the systems within our buildings, elevating their performance, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. With a distinguished career including leadership roles at prestigious companies like Apple, Lucid, Tesla, and Boeing, Vince has showcased his multifaceted expertise, tackling challenges of any scale with finesse. His unwavering dedication to innovation and excellence, coupled with his talent for inspiring teams, render him an indispensable asset in every collaborative pursuit.
Kong Sham
Enterprise Design & Permitting
As our Head of Enterprise Design & Permitting, Kong collaborates closely with our high profile clients, diligently discerning their requirements and seamlessly integrating them into our facilities. He navigates the intricate permitting procedures of diverse cities with precision and efficacy. With a career dedicated to the food industry, Kong brings unparalleled expertise to our team, ensuring unmatched quality and precision in every project.
Ryan Cupps
US Development
Ryan’s expertise lies in orchestrating the full spectrum of real estate development activities, including site selection, feasibility analysis, entitlements, navigating land-use, permitting across major and tertiary cities, financing, design, construction, asset management, and operations. With a wealth of experience in real estate development both in the US and overseas, Ryan demonstrates a strong aptitude for bringing ambitious visions to fruition. His tenure in the industry underscores his exceptional ability to lead projects to successful completion.
Dickey's Barbecue Pit
Laura Dickey — CEO & Dennis Ju — VP of Franchise Development
Craft Burger
Shannen T - Owner & chef
Oh My Gogi
Nathan C — Owner & chef
Coffee Q
Julio A — Owner & chef
Furlough Brothers
Michael Y & Sam K — Owners & chefs
Wokker
Marco J — Owner & chef
Florentine Legacy
Nick P - Third generation owner
Build a Pizza
Dolores A - Owner & chef
Packin' Bowls
Michael Y & Sam K — Owners & chefs
Redheart
Michael Z and Danny L - Owners
Hayati
Michel - Owner
Larry's Late Night Eats
Niko L - Owner & chef
Brady's Bakery
Reece Scelfo
Our restaurant partners
Questions?
We’re here to help
What is a ghost kitchen?
Ghost kitchens, also known as dark kitchens or virtual kitchens, are commercial kitchens built for food delivery. They’re located within the delivery radius of a high volume of online customers, rather than high foot traffic areas. With ghost kitchens, there’s no physical storefront or dining area, so you only need a few back-of-house staff members to fulfill online orders.
How does a ghost kitchen work?
In a ghost kitchen, your restaurant is focused on delivery rather than dine-in. When eaters order your food online, you’ll prepare it from your ghost kitchen, and hand it off to a fulfillment team to get the order over to the right delivery driver. This gives restaurateurs a low cost, high efficiency model to get the most out of delivery.
Are ghost kitchens profitable?
Yes. Ghost kitchens allow restaurateurs to increase profitability by maintaining the essential elements of a restaurant while cutting costs on labor, overhead, and wasted food while reaching a higher volume of customers ordering online. Plus, you can run multiple virtual brands out of a single ghost kitchen to increase revenue without the extra overhead.
Why are ghost kitchens so popular?
Ghost kitchens are rising in popularity because they’re a lower cost alternative to operating a traditional restaurant. They’re also focused on delivery, which has grown 300% faster than dine-in since 2014. That means restaurateurs are using ghost kitchens to future-proof their business and accelerate growth.
How does a ghost kitchen help your restaurant grow?
Ghost kitchens help restaurateurs grow their business by doing delivery right. The way we dine has changed, and ghost kitchens allow restaurant operators to capture food delivery demand without sacrificing their bottom line. They’re also a great way to expand to new markets without spending time and money on a traditional restaurant buildout. You can easily expand your restaurant brand to different cities across the country such as Los Angeles or New York.
How much do ghost kitchens cost?
The cost of ghost kitchens varies by market, space, and services. Compared to a traditional restaurant, they’re a much lower cost alternative on both upfront capital and ongoing operating costs. You can get started in a ghost kitchen with as little as $30K, instead of $1M+ for brick and mortar buildout.
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