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I thought ghost kitchens was a good idea: optimize for delivery, focus on foods that travel well, cut costs by using cheaper real estate in a smaller footprint and eliminating all the expenses that come along with people sitting in a space for hours. Probably less regulatory burden than a full service restaurant.

The reality was it just enabled a flood of crap onto the delivery apps.

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Clustertruck (https://www.clustertruck.com/) is a regional entity somewhere between a restaurant and a ghost-kitchen. Delivery-only and a wide variety of meals, but they own their own app and don't list elsewhere. They check off the bullet points you mentioned.

The food is good but expensive, especially with delivery fees and tips. They've had to close a few locations over the years, so it's not a slam dunk in every city and I assume the margins are still slim.

Is it more expensive than DoorDash after all of the food markups, tips, and fees? Or at least comparable given the quality of the food?

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