You may have noticed a Wendy’s trailer in a few parking lots throughout Ottawa.
It’s a red trailer that’s serving up fast food; but, you can’t dine in and there are no picnic tables or a patio to enjoy your food. While there are cars pulling up, there is not a drive-thru either.
It’s what’s called a ‘Ghost Kitchen,’ making food for delivery services like Skip the Dishes, DoorDash and Uber Eats.
"Love it, it’s a good spot for it," Skip the Dishes delivery driver Derek Koeing tells CTV News Ottawa while picking up an order from the Little Italy Wendy’s location. "I was basically saying to myself, it’s about time cause there’s none in the area. And like I said, I think they do quite well."
A spokesperson for Wendy’s tells CTV News Ottawa that there are currently several of these located across Canada. Wendy’s opened 30 “REEF Delivery Kitchens” in the U.S., Canada and U.K. last year.
According to a press release, Wendy’s and REEF - an operator of mobility, logistics hubs and kitchens - plan to open and operate 700 ‘delivery kitchens’ across the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom by 2025.
Restaurants Canada says it’s not just Wendy’s; four percent of Canadian restaurateurs operated a Ghost Kitchen last year, and another eight percent are planning to open one by 2023.
"Some existing brands find it easier to have a separate kitchen that takeout orders can go out for,” says James Rilett, vice-president, Central Canada for Restaurants Canada. “They exist, mainly because of the rise in takeout and delivery; it’s a phenomenon that’s been growing over the years, the pandemic has made it grow that much faster."
He says that it is something that’s good for the customer.
“The advantage is so that customers that actually come into your restaurant don’t get overtaken by delivery drivers coming in and out. It takes the load off your kitchen a bit, so that you don’t have the kitchen working only on takeout orders and ignoring the people who are in your restaurant.”
