ghost kitchen

noun

plural ghost kitchens

: a commercial cooking facility used for the preparation of food consumed off the premises

Ghost kitchens host food establishments, usually fast-casual, that make meals that can be purchased exclusively with a delivery app …

—Jonah Engel Bromwich

Ghost kitchens, which have no storefronts or dining rooms, are the hottest thing going during the pandemic. Some are all-new kitchens created to house multiple companies. Others … are new brands added to existing restaurants that seek additional business.

—Michael Klein

This is what [Eric] Greenspan did with his own ghost kitchen brands—multiple cuisine styles made from the same basic supplies, all from a single location.

—RoamingHunger.com

called also cloud kitchen, dark kitchen

Examples of ghost kitchen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While there is no application in the works for a similar permit at the Presidio, Lee said there is a general blueprint for adding dine-in elements to both theaters if a new owner wants to pursue that option, or even operating a ghost kitchen at one of the theaters to serve food to the other. —Abigail Lee, Variety, 10 June 2025

In addition to food service from her new ghost kitchen in Miami Gardens, Donaldson plans to start selling her homemade spice blends at local events and farmer’s markets. —Michael Butler, Miami Herald, 27 May 2025

Neighbors in an Echo Park neighborhood say they are overrun by delivery drivers from a new ghost kitchen that opened in 2023. —Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2025

In Sacramento County, street food vendors often use ghost kitchens. —Emma Hall, Sacramento Bee, 15 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

2015, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ghost kitchen

• cowichan
• kitchin