Photo by George Mahe
A new ghost kitchen-based facility recently opened at 2360 Hampton, a half mile south of Interstate 44. At The Hill Food Co., 22 kitchens can operate under one roof. John Carrazco, operations manager for 6-year old Cloud Kitchens, which operates dozens of ghost kitchen projects across the country, says that the Hampton Avenue location was selected for the number of potential customers within a 15-minute drive. He adds that the concept has broad appeal, “from existing owner operators, like Bandana’s, to those who want to get back in the business, such as De Palm Tree, to first-timers like STL Indian Kitchen.”
The Kitchens
Six kitchens are currently operational, with three more slated to open in the coming weeks:
NOW OPEN
Bandana's Bar-B-Q Express
- Affiliation: Bandana’s Bar-B-Q
- Menu: Smoked pork and brisket sandwiches and platters, Bandana’s award winning ribs, barbecue wings, plus a la carte bulk meats and sides
- Hours: 11:30 a.m.–8 p.m. daily
De Palm Tree
- Affiliation: The erstwhile De Palm Tree restaurant in University City
- Menu: Jamaica jerked chicken, shrimp curry, oxtail stew, curried goat, fried codfish balls, fried plantains, fish soup, plus vegetarian items
- Hours: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Tue–Thu, 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. Fri–Sat
Jose'penos Express
- Affiliation: Jose'penos Mexican Restaurant in O’Fallon, Missouri
- Menu: Tacos, burritos, chimichangas, quesadillas, fajitas, guacamole, Mexican dips, seafood entrees, molcajete dishes, and a dozen house specials
- Hours: 11 a.m.–midnight daily
The Req Room
- Affiliation: The Req Room Bar & Bistro in Overland
- Menu: Honey-glazed meatballs, potstickers, buffalo chicken dip, burgers, sandwiches, wings, plus fish, chicken, and steak tacos and chocolate lava cake for dessert
- Hours: 11 a.m.–11 p.m. daily
STL Indian Kitchen
- Affiliation: N/A (new business)
- Menu: Samosas, make your own bowls, paneers, tikka masala, korma chicken, biryani, naan, mango lassi
- Hours: 5 p.m.–midnight Thu–Mon, 8 p.m.–midnight Tues, 6 p.m.–midnight Wed
Thai Kitchen
- Affiliation: Four other locations (Florissant, O’Fallon, St. Charles, and Wentzville), as well as one in Maryland Heights under separate ownership
- Menu: Fried rice, curries, soups, noodle dishes, stir fries, and several Thai appetizers
- Hours: Daily. Delivery hours are 11 a.m.–3 p.m. and 4–8 p.m. Pickup is available until 8:30 p.m.
- Note: At present, Thai Kitchen isn't affiliated with The Hill Food Co. order portal. Customers must order from a food-delivery app or its proprietary online ordering portal.
COMING SOON
Bougie Bites STL
- Affiliation: Food truck
- Menu: Plant-based food items, including Impossible burgers, tacos, plates, and bowls
Deer Creek Coffee
- Affiliation: Deer Creek Coffee in Ladue
- Menu: Coffee, sandwiches, pastries
Wok-O Taco
- Affiliation: Food truck
- Menu: Mexican street tacos with an Asian flair
Courtesy of The Hill Food Co.
Customers can place orders for pick up or delivery either through major delivery companies’ apps (DoorDash, UberEats, Grubhub, Postmates, etc.), directly through The Hill Food Co. portal, or in person onsite using a self-order kiosk. Each order must be placed through each restaurant. There is no way to combine multiple orders on one bill. Customers can also place orders one day in advance using the “order ahead” tab.
Photo by George Mahe
Completed orders are bagged and run to an assigned, numbered locker in the front lobby. (In some locations, robotic runners are used.) Delivery drivers scan the pickup order link, and the respective locker door pops open. (If the order is not ready, the system asks for the driver’s cell and sends a text when it's ready.) Self pickup or orders placed onsite work the same way: A text message alerts the customer when the order is ready.
“It’s a great system,” Carrazco says. “There’s no way that someone can pick up the wrong order or wander in and help themselves to a random order.”
Photo by George Mahe
The Concept
Although the concept of a ghost kitchen began before the pandemic, the delivery-only model took off in 2020, as online orders surged when restaurants scrambled to reinvent themselves. Operating within existing restaurants, limited-menu ghost kitchens were effective in helping keep the struggling businesses afloat when dining rooms were closed or seating was reduced.
When restaurants reopened and then returned to full capacity, many local ghost kitchens closed, as diminished staff scrambled to keep up with pent-up demand for in-house dining. The original ghost kitchen model, however, was to operate several concepts out of a shared space in a centrally located but affordable standalone location, with third-party delivery companies supplying the drivers. The Hill Food Co. is a prime example.
Similar to a food truck, the shared ghost kitchen is an efficient way for a new or fledgling operator to test the waters or for an existing restaurant or chain to expand its market and/or experiment with new menu items, as well as to meet the demands of today’s delivery-inclined customer. In short, ghost kitchens are an effective way to open a low-cost store in a new area with minimal labor.
Compared to a traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant, the model requires a small footprint (220-plus square feet, rather than 2,000 and up), less capital investment ($30,000-plus instead of $500,000 or more), fewer employees (three per shift instead of 10 or more), a shorter-term lease (one-year renewable instead of three- or five-year), and less time to launch (six weeks, rather than a minimum of six months).
It helps that The Hill Food Co. is a well-engineered operation: The majority of the kitchens back up to a communal, partitioned walk-in cooler running the length of the building. Each tenant is responsible for building out its kitchen with the necessary equipment (hot and cold), as well as shelving units. “Kitchens that don’t require a walk-in make do with in-kitchen reach-ins,” says Carrzaco. “And should the tenant need additional cold storage, there’s an additional communal walk in refrigerator and freezer.” A long wall of common wire shelving is also available for additional dry good storage if needed.
There’s a kitchen onboarding team to help acquire and set up any kitchen equipment and a digital onboarding team to get it signed up with the delivery companies and to integrate it into The Hill Food Co.’s website. “Plus, each unit has its own electrical panel,” Carrazco says, “so adding outlets or arranging for more equipment is easy. We have preferred vendors and craftsman available that can make additions or repairs happen quickly.” To help maintain a clean, safe environment, the company cleans each kitchen floor nightly and degreases the exhaust hood once a week. The kitchen equipment and wall surfaces are cleaned by the respective tenants.
The Hill Food Co. is a 24-hour-a-day operation, “Once someone signs up, they have 24/7 access, so your concept can be breakfast, lunch, dinner, or late night-based,” Carrazco says, stressing the latter should not be overlooked. “There’s a lot of competition at dinner,” he adds, “but not nearly as much after 10 p.m. or after the bars close, when food options are limited and the demand high. We’ve had concepts expand or change their hours due to demand they hadn’t anticipated or open a second kitchen to test out an item that sold super well in the original. Or a person could do Bob’s Breakfast Burritos in the morning and Bob’s Burgers at night.”
He says some people with food trucks use a ghost kitchen to expand the brand. “Starting a ghost kitchen can benefit both concepts,” he says, “but sometimes the ghost kitchen wins out because it’s just easier...and cooler.”
Carrazco also oversees two cloud kitchens in Minneapolis and one in Kansas City, where he’s impressed by the “community” of the kitchens. “They share best practices, best packaging systems, lessons learned, to-dos and not to-dos,” he says. “There’s discussion of doing a shared marketing campaign or consolidating buying power. Cool things can come out of a community like that.”
Rendering courtesy of The Hill Food Co.
Participating kitchens' logos will soon be added to the front of the building
