Your San Francisco Bay Area ghost kitchen awaits

With CloudKitchens, San Francisco & Bay Area chefs can cut costs without cutting quality.

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Why open ghost kitchens in San Francisco?

$30
Average basket size

The average basket size at our San Francisco ghost kitchen locations is $30, meaning more online revenue for your restaurant business.

12K
Deliveries per week

Tap into more online delivery demand at our San Francisco dark kitchen locations with an average of 12K deliveries per week.

37mins.
Average delivery time

Our San Francisco 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

Brick & mortar

2000ft2

High cost, high traffic address

Ghost Kitchens

200ft2

Same area, low cost low traffic address

Staff required (~)

Brick & mortar

24

Many dedicated to front-of-house

Ghost Kitchens

4

We provide staff to handle all order handoffs and more

Weeks to launch 1 location

Brick & mortar

52w

10 locations 5-10 years

Ghost Kitchens

6w

Multiple locations 1 year

Upfront investment

Brick & mortar

$1M

High investment

Ghost Kitchens

$30k*

Low investment

Break even

Brick & mortar

5y

10% profit on 1M run rate

Ghost Kitchens

6m

10% profit on 1M run rate

* Varies based on local permitting and operational complexity

Kitchen Specs

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


Are ghost kitchens worth the investment?

The rise of ghost kitchens

The golden age of food delivery has arrived. And with that, comes 54M delivery app users and a market estimated to reach a net worth of $1.65T by 2027. Ghost kitchens are providing restaurateurs with a lower-risk alternative to a traditional brick and mortar by cutting labor costs and the overall upfront investment to get started.

With dedicated kitchen space built for delivery, these lower cost, tech-enabled locations set you and your restaurant up for delivery success, making it easy to get up and running in less time.

With over 8,000 ghost kitchen locations in the US alone, chances are there is a ghost kitchen in your neighborhood. At CloudKitchens, we find the best possible ghost kitchen location that captures the most delivery demand, at the lowest cost.

As more hungry customers turn to delivery for their next meal, it is becoming even more vital to have a delivery strategy in place for your restaurant business.

Unlock new trends emerging in food delivery, new AI tech to take advantage of, and how to tap into this booming industry with our latest trend guide.

Unlock the inside scoop on the rise of ghost kitchens.

Ghost kitchen facility

7 ghost kitchen locations

Our San Francisco facilities are located in the heart of delivery demand, providing you with exclusive access to more online customers.

Ghost kitchen

70 total ghost kitchens

Our San Francisco facilities are equipped with a variety of kitchen layouts to best fit your restaurant needs.

Ghost kitchen cooking space

~200 sq ft cooking spaces

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

Delivery

Delivery and pickup in high traffic areas

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

Aerial vision of San Francisco with an area of high buildings and another with smaller builings, on the back is the Golden Gate bridge, a blue sky and a few clouds

Explore CloudKitchens San Francisco

Get cooking in some of the hottest neighborhoods in San Francisco

Introducing CloudKitchens San Francisco


The San Francisco Bay Area food scene

Spaghetti - ghost kitchen

The Bay Area community knows the high price of real estate and of starting a business. But with a ghost kitchen, SF cooks can avoid those risky business-sinking costs. Save yourself hundreds of square feet and thousands of dollars with CloudKitchens.

So what does CloudKitchens do? We help you cut the time and cost of starting your restaurant brand. With minimal capital, a restaurateur can launch a San Francisco commercial kitchen in as little as one month. No more wasted time sourcing equipment, staffing your front of the house, or setting up the indoor dining room—it’s all taken care of.

From Oakland to Pacific Heights, CloudKitchens can bring your food to doorsteps and dining tables across San Francisco, Oakland, and the Bay Area. We add local kitchen locations in the center of the city with the most demand for delivery service. And with our on-site fulfillment team, no takeout order gets left behind. Watch the happy reviews flow in while more deliveries flow out.

If you love cooking but don’t love the cleanup that comes after, you’ll also love the simple convenience of the ghost kitchen concept. In San Francisco, virtual kitchen users can avoid maintenance tasks, cleaning, and extra overhead costs of a traditional restaurant. Our ghost kitchens are food delivery service-optimized with all-inclusive cleaning, utilities, and more. You get to cook while we take care of the rest. And at costs this low, you won’t believe you’re cooking in a ghost kitchen in the San Francisco Bay Area.

With a ghost kitchen, SF chefs receive all orders via one integrated tablet—no more juggling five different food delivery apps. Our system even lets you track orders and customer data for maximum efficiency.

Low costs, easy maintenance, and high accessibility have made the ghost kitchen concept the go-to for San Francisco chefs and restaurant owners. No matter what your professional cooking needs are, CloudKitchens can fulfill them. Learn more about our commercial ghost kitchen options in the Bay Area.

San Francisco Bay Area ghost kitchens

Explore our prime delivery locations in the heart of San Francisco
FAQ

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 San Francisco?

Setting up your San Francisco virtual kitchen starts with your space. You’ll need to acquire the right permits and certifications and ensure that your San Francisco commercial kitchen or ghost kitchen passes inspections. 

Culinary trends move quickly in the city, so your successful food delivery venture should move at a rapid pace. You’ll need operational support that’s efficient and detail-oriented—like ours. With a CloudKitchens ghost kitchen in San Francisco, we’ll place your virtual kitchen on the top food delivery apps and you’ll find everything you need to get up and running in weeks.


How much does it cost to start a ghost kitchen in San Francisco?

CloudKitchens’ ghost kitchens in San Francisco require as little as $30k upfront— significantly cheaper than a comparative Bay Area commercial kitchen or brick-and-mortar restaurant. While a traditional San Francisco commercial kitchen or Oakland commercial kitchen can easily have startup costs of over $1 million if you’re building from the ground up, the CloudKitchens SF ghost kitchen model requires a much smaller investment.


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