A ‘Digital Foodhall of The Future’ has launched in east London, where customers order from a range of restaurants on in-store kiosks or an app before collecting meals from a bank of lockers.
The Co-Kitchens has launched in Dalston, housing eight food brands that operate from so-called cloud or ghost kitchens on the site, and prepare meals to be collected from lockers accessed by QR code in the front of house area.
The concept aims to “secure existing independent food businesses a slice of high street real estate at a fraction of the usual cost” the company says, adding that the concept is “the first of its kind to land on the high street”.
“Cloud kitchens are establishing themselves as a billion-dollar industry, but most of them are located in industrial areas or on the outskirts of towns where there are only options for delivery drivers,” The Co-Kitchens founder Shahzad Bhatti told The Grocer. “We’ve created an innovative new concept in the heart of east London on a busy, vibrant high street that not only allows us to have eight food concepts operating from our kitchen, but also features a front of house, which allows delivery drivers and customers to come in and efficiently pick up their order from our automated lockers.”
Customers can use The Co-Kitchens own app or order in person from the kiosks – which “helps food businesses get more money directly in their pocket instead of delivery platforms taking up to 30% commission”, Bhatti said. Some of the restaurants also list on Deliveroo and other platforms, with couriers collecting orders in the same way as consumers.
Orders can be made for immediate collection or up to one day in advance “so it accommodates busy Londoners at a time that suits them”.
The restaurants pay a monthly rent of kitchen station space which covers all bills, professional cleaning, maintenance, and pest control with no additional fee for using the ordering system. The kitchens come fully equipped with “essential professional tools” and the brands can choose from fixed time slots for a “convenient and flexible monthly membership”. Rental starts from £2,500 a month.
The Co-Kitchens has begun a PR and marketing drive to attract east Londoners to the site, as well as business owners wanting to break into the London market. Through its app and kiosk, restaurants can run special offers and promotions.
Further sites are currently being scoped out.
“We’re already on the hunt for our next location and the aim is to launch a network of locations that will cover a delivery radius all around London,” Bhatti said.
Bhatti founded The Co-Kitchens last year, and the company operates several shared kitchen spaces in Dubai. Sister company The Co-Spaces runs shared office spaces in downtown Dubai, as well as a co-working office site in Dalston.
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