After expressing its interest in ghost kitchens at large and Kitchen United’s upcoming Chicago location in specific, fast-growing hot dog franchise Dog Haus announced it will be one of a dozen brands testing the viability of a mobile-ordering and delivery-only restaurant.
Vener sees four promising aspects of the concept that “can really help us.” One is help for a good problem to have: too many customers standing in long lines. “We can go into one of these Kitchen Uniteds and help with the overflow of the orders. And we can accommodate all the diners,” he said.
The second is entering new markets with less risk than a traditional restaurant. He cited Atlanta, one of the 10 markets where Kitchen United openings are planned, as an example. “We do the marketing, we do the branding and we can test out the market,” he said. “Then once we know it’s up and running and we have demand on the food we can look at a multi-unit operator” to sign.
A third plus: Testing the menu during different hours of the day, and tailoring it to certain demographics.
And a fourth: “They have all this data that they have been pooling. They can go into a market and see what is the biggest search” and tailor the offerings accordingly, he said.