Explore the benefits of ghost kitchens in Nashville
Learn how a Nashville ghost kitchen can supercharge your growth and earning potential
Why open ghost kitchens in Nashville?
$29
Average basket size
The average basket size at our Nashville ghost kitchen locations is $29, meaning more online revenue for your restaurant business.
91
Deliveries per week
Tap into more online delivery demand at our Nashville dark kitchen locations with an average of 91 deliveries per week.
36mins.
Average delivery time
Our Nashville ghost kitchens are built for efficiency, with the logistics and delivery support you need to deliver more orders faster.
6
Delivery platforms available
Maximize your reach online with 6 delivery platforms to choose from.
Ghost kitchens versus traditional restaurants
Real Estate
Pay only for the space you need, rather than for empty dining rooms and waiting areas.
Staff required
We provide all your support staff, and there’s no need for front-of-house labor, so you can work with a smaller team.
Weeks to launch
Our facilities are move-in ready and we can help you navigate the permitting process.
Investment
Avoid the $1 million+ startup cost on your own restaurant to start seeing profits faster.
Breakeven
With a ghost kitchen, you can break even in as little as 6 months with a 10% profit and $1M in annual sales.
Brick & mortar
traditional restaurant
CloudKitchens
delivery restaurant
Upfront investment
$1M
$30K*
null
Real estate cost
2000 ft4
High cost, high traffic address
~200-300 ft3*
Same area, low cost low traffic address
Staff required
25+ employees
Many dedicated to front-of-house
~4 employees*
We provide staff to handle all order handoffs and more
Time required to open
1 location 52 weeks
10 locations 5-10 years
1 location ~6 weeks*
Multiple locations 1 year
Breakeven
5 years
10% profit on 1M run rate
~6 months*
based on 10% profit and $1M in annual sales
All you need and more under the hood
We offer kitchens for modern-day chefs and help get you set up with specialized equipment and minimal fuss.
Space
- Private kitchen
- Driver pickup area
- Staff locker area
- Restrooms
- Mop wash
- Cold & freezer storage
- Dry storage
Services
- Order pickup & processing*
- Courier handoff
- Cleaning & maintenance
- Safety & health inspections
- Delivery logistics
- Extraction & ventilation
- On-site support staff
- Delivery software
*Level of service dependent on facility
Equipment
- 3 compartment sink
- Prep sink
- Hand sink
- Commercial hood
- Tablet
- Grease-trap/interceptor
Utilities
- Gas points
- Power outlets
- High power lighting
- Cold & hot water lines
- Gas/fire safety system
- WiFi
- Trash / recycle
- Ethernet connections
- Grease/trap cleaning
- Hood/flue cleaning
- Pest control

1 ghost kitchen location
Our Nashville facility is located in the heart of delivery demand, providing you with exclusive access to more online customers.
30 total ghost kitchens
Our Nashville facilities are equipped with a variety of kitchen layouts to best fit your restaurant needs.

300 sq ft cooking spaces
Choose from a variety of kitchen spaces or open up multiple kitchens to test out new concepts.

Delivery and pickup in high traffic areas
With prime locations near high concentrations of delivery demand in Nashville, you're able to easily drive more pickup and delivery business to your restaurant.

Nashville, the legendary home of country music and the famous Nashville hot chicken tenders, is a vibrant foodie community bursting with potential for a new restaurateur. If you’re ready and willing to meet this challenge, you’ll want to consider the dark/ commercial kitchen model, which can help you to open your own delivery-only restaurant business within weeks and with as little as $30k in start-up costs.
CloudKitchens helps you with your Nashville commissary kitchen by providing a space and most of the equipment you’ll need. In this delivery-based model, your role will be to receive orders, cook up the food you’re passionate about, and hand it off to a delivery driver–it’s really that simple. No need to invest upwards of a million dollars just to build out a brick-and-mortar space, just to invest in dozens more front-of-house staff members.
Restaurant operators have plenty of options for excellent areas in Nashville. We use data to strategically select our ghost kitchen locations, placing them in the parts of Nashville which are home to customers who frequently order delivery or takeout. Add another unique food joint to the trendy Green Hills landscape, feed busy music execs and hungry artists in the famed Music Row, or make a name for yourself among the food fanatics of Midtown.
CloudKitchens will allow you to minimize overhead so you can maximize profitability and focus on the actual craft of cooking. That way you can win over Nashville locals and tourists alike while seeing quicker returns on your investment than you might with a traditional restaurant.
Nashville ghost kitchens
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 can be profitable. 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.
What are the requirements to set up a ghost kitchen in Nashville?
Nashville commercial kitchens must abide by Tennessee law. Food service businesses need to meet a long list of equipment and sanitation requirements and must submit their floor plan and business license for approval.
Thankfully, setting up a ghost kitchen can be easier than you think. CloudKitchens helps provide logistics support to get your restaurant business up and running without a hitch.
Does CloudKitchens provide the delivery drivers among their support staff?
Delivery drivers are employed by individual food delivery platforms, not by CloudKitchens. However, CloudKitchens will connect your business to those platforms and process orders from each of them onto a single tablet.
Which Nashville neighborhood is best for a ghost kitchen?
Where you open your CloudKitchens location depends on your target audience and the type of food you sell. Are you a late-night snack service or a trendy fusion food pop-up? You might choose to set up your ghost kitchen near Vanderbilt University campus to cater to the diverse student community. Or if your fried chicken delivery is the answer to Nashville's hungry after-hours crowds, choose from multiple downtown locations near the hottest bars and clubs.
How do I run a successful ghost kitchen in Nashville?
Nashville is a location with strong local roots and a vibrant tourist scene. Crafting a message that taps into the city's music scene, iconic foods, and Southern culture can attract long-time residents and hungry visitors alike. Unsure where to start? Partner with an established community brand or influencer with deep knowledge of the city.