Restaurant Business Models: Recent Trends
Selecting the right restaurant business model is crucial for profitability, business strategy, and brand success. Featured in this article are business models that have gone viral in recent years. Understanding the diverse landscape of profitable restaurant models can help entrepreneurs align their vision with viable market opportunities, and when done strategically, many businesses have experienced massive success and virality by adopting these strategies and menu features. However it is important to keep in mind that simply copying these restaurant business models does not guarantee success, as there are several factors that go into planning a successful business.
This comprehensive guide explores trending restaurant models, highlighting operational insights, investment considerations, and context.
Smash Burger Business Model: Definition & Profitability
The smash burger model focuses on thin beef patties smashed onto hot griddles for crispy edges and quick preparation (2–3 min). Popularized by chains like Shake Shack, this model achieves high profitability through premium pricing and minimal equipment needs. Ideal for fast-casual burger joints, food trucks, and ghost kitchens.
Boba (Bubble Tea) Business Model
Originating in Taiwan, boba tea businesses deliver customizable tea beverages with tapioca pearls and toppings. High profit margins (60–80%) result from low ingredient costs and premium pricing. Ideal locations include shopping malls, college towns, and urban centers. Boba, always popular and well known in Asia, has in recent years skyrocketed in popularity in the US becoming a popular and profitable business model.
Seafood Boil Business Model
Offering communal-style shellfish meals, seafood boil restaurants achieve 30–40% food costs through efficient bulk purchasing. Chains like The Boiling Crab thrive through casual dining environments and reduced service labor. They typically price their foods at a premium, but due to popularity it hasn’t been an issue attracting ready-to-eat customers. Many of these types of restaurants exist within a franchise, which can make starting a seafood boil restaurant more accessible than figuring out your own menu.
Dubai Chocolate (Dessert Cafe) Business Model
Luxury chocolate experiences featuring artistic presentations and regional flavors (e.g., saffron, cardamom). Premium pricing ($8–15 per dessert) leverages social-media-friendly settings. Ideal for upscale tourist areas or affluent neighborhoods. This Business Model skyrocketed in popularity after Dubai Chocolate went viral on Tiktok. This trend transformed quickly into a viable business model- and restaurants across the US popped up featuring their take on Dubai chocolate. Local restaurant in Seattle Washington Lune cafe featured a viral Strawberry-Dubai Chocolate cup featuring Fresh Strawberries, Melted Chocolate, and the Pistachio kataifi mixture.
Bingsoo, Korean Shaved Ice (Dessert Cafe) Business Model
Another notable Dessert Cafe business model is the famous Bingsoo Korean Shaved Ice. Typical flavors include popular asian flavors such as taro, ingeolmi, black sesame and red bean. Other popular flavors include strawberry, mango, tiramisu and oreo. This dessert is simple to make, and only requires a few essential ingredients- shaved milk ice, condensed milk, occasionally icecream and toppings. Many bingsoo dessert cafes also feature other popular desserts such as taiyaki- a fried pancake designed as a fish with either sweet or savory fillings such as redbean, custard or eggs and bacon.
Build-Your-Own Restaurant Model
Allowing meal customization from bases, proteins, and toppings, this assembly-line model pioneered by Chipotle reduces waste, simplifies inventory, and accommodates dietary preferences. Ideal for health-focused and fast-casual operations. Other restaurant types that commonly use this model are Poke restaurants that feature a variety of raw-fish and topping selections as well as salad restaurants like Evergreens with different proteins and salad bases. Build-Your-Own Food Model can be successful in introducing a refreshing take on a common food.
Korean Cheese-Dog Business Model
This business model takes after casual cafes popularized in Korea that have easy-to-make, snack-like foods available for purchase. This business model features Korean cheese-dogs which are simple to prepare in large quantities. Restaurants can also order these in bulk and fry to serve. Typical flavors include Potato-dogs, with both sweet and regular diced potatoes coated on the outside of the cheese-dog. All Korean cheese dogs feature a glob of mozzarella cheese on the inside, and typically the lower half will be a small sausage. Restaurants can use spicy or regular sausage. Other customization options include full-cheese, full-sausage, half cheese half sausage, and squid ink. Common to serve with Korean Cheese-Dogs are condiments such as Ketchup, sriracha, hot honey, honey mustard, sweet chili sauce and more.
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided for general informational purposes only and the content does not constitute an endorsement. CloudKitchens does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of any information, text, images/graphics, links, or other content contained within the content. We recommend that you consult with financial, legal, and business professionals for advice specific to your situation.
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.
