Can a restaurant be a restaurant if you take away the cashiers, tables and diners? Thomas Pham, a franchisee with 10 Halal Guys kebab restaurants in Southern California, is giving it a try. He turned to the newish `ghost kitchen` business model earlier this year as he builds out his company. Rather than paying as much as $500,000 upfront for a new restaurant, he opened a location in a shared-space kitchen in Pasadena that makes food for to-go and delivery customers. The cost: $20,000, plus a $5,000 monthly fee, which is half the rent for a brick-and-mortar restaurant, he says. With delivery orders booming across the restaurant industry, these new-style cookhouses may be just the ticket for...
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