With the ghost kitchen trend continuing to pick up steam, Franklin Becker is the latest high-profile chef to jump in and ride this new culinary wave. He is debuting four new delivery and take-out only restaurant concepts from one kitchen, operating out of Zuul Kitchens, a ghost kitchen facility based in SoHo, New York.
“As a result of the pandemic, I think everyone has to figure out how to make money outside of the four walls of a restaurant,” Becker explained. “Our hands are being forced into another revenue stream.”
After Franklin Becker’s new brick-and-mortar projects got delayed, he decided to pivot towards a ghost kitchen to keep his assembled culinary team from leaving and to have the opportunity to test market concepts for future brick-and-mortar locations in a cost-efficient way.
“It’s a lot cheaper to test brands virtually then it is to test them in a brick-and-mortar store,” Becker offered. “I get to open four restaurants for a quarter of a million dollars. I wouldn’t even be able to get my kitchen done for that price.”
The Zuul kitchen includes state of the industry equipment highlighted by a battery of Jade Ranges.
Becker is no stranger to business innovations. Cooking since the age of 14 years old in local Brooklyn restaurants of his childhood, he went on to study at the Culinary Institute of America, then it was on to executive chef positions at acclaimed kitchens like Capitale, CATCH restaurants, cooking competitions on Bravo’s Top Chef Masters, penning cookbooks, developing food apps and creating the fast-casual, vegetable-centric restaurant chain Little Beet.
Now he is rolling out four virtual concepts “influenced by my travels and by the fact that we haven’t been able to travel in over a year,” says Becker. Like Universal Taco, branded as a “passport to flavor” offering eight different tacos peppered with global influences inspired by places like Mexico City, Beijing street markets, the Baja beaches and the like.
There’s also Galinha, created to celebrate Portuguese BBQ, and Becker’s love of the country’s rustic way of cooking. Then Shai, an Israelis inspired hummusiya, is primarily a vegetarian and vegan menu focused on chickpea dishes.
The fourth concept Butterfunk Biscuit is the brainchild of Bravo’s Top Chef finalist, Chef Chris Scott, who is partnering with Becker to bring four generations of his family’s biscuit recipes into the homes of Southern food fans.
When it comes to succeeding at the ghost kitchen game, Becker thinks “what’s going to separate the adults from the children, is going to be how well you do takeout and if you are able to provide guests the same level of experience dining at home as they would get at your restaurant. What does the food look like? Did it arrive hot or cold? How does it taste? I think the better chefs are striving to eliminate the stigma of takeout.”
That makes packaging important. Becker says they are testing their packaging to make sure it stands up to time and temperature and the food arrives as it should. They are also sourcing responsibly and making sure the materials used are good for the environment. Two packaging vendors that passed the test are Sabert and Eco Craft. He acknowledges along with the right packaging is trying to ensure the third-party delivery partners will deliver orders in a timely fashion.
Without the exposure a brick-and-mortar dining establishment offers just by mere street traffic alone, the challenge for a virtual brand becomes name recognition, how do you garner the attention of your guests. For Becker that’s been a combination of social media and good old-fashion guerilla marketing — distributing flyers directly to commercial and residential buildings.
“We also have been reaching out to our guests through promotions the delivery services run, Becker concluded. Working with them is a necessary evil at this point. The pros are we get to tap into our customer’s buying habits through their database and we can also reach a larger audience through them. But they charge an exorbitant amount of money to make a delivery.” Becker indicated that 60% of the orders come through Uber Eats, Seamless and Grubhub.
As Becker continues to test and develop new dining concepts he can eventually introduce into physical locations, including the multi-concept food hall at Columbia University’s Manhattanville campus set to open, he thinks ghost kitchens will continue to become an important part of the restaurant industry’s future.
