Zuul to Expand Its Ghost Kitchens Throughout New York City
The company intends to use the additional funds to extend its capacity in high demand areas in the city’s five boroughs.
New York-based Zuul has secured $9 million that it will use to expand its operation of ghost kitchens throughout the city. The company provides kitchen space and logistical support to existing restaurant brands seeking to expand their capacity to provide food-for-delivery.
Zuul currently operates from its flagship location at 30 Vandam Street in New York City and services brands that deliver to residential and commercial customers in downtown Manhattan. The company, which boasts fast-casual chain Sweetgreen and Murray Hill’s Sarge’s Delicatessen and Diner among the “restaurant partners” listed on its website, said that it intends to use the additional funds to extend its capacity in high demand areas in all the city’s five boroughs.
“By raising this additional capital, Zuul can continue to play a central role in the restaurant industry’s accelerating shift toward delivery while addressing the challenges this shift presents,” said Corey Manicone, Co-Founder and CEO of Zuul. “We partner with restaurants to improve the experience end-to-end. As Zuul expands, so too can our members dynamically scale and drive attractive incremental unit economics.”
Zuul’s expansion is poised to harness the increased focus on delivery in the restaurant industry driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Christopher E. Maling, principal-Retail Capital Markets at Avison Young, wrote in an article for Globe Street last month that ghost kitchens “are poised to continue to grow their footprint in major metro areas over the coming months and years.” The ghost kitchen model allows existing brands to prepare meals from custom-built kitchens. Zuul manages matters such as dishwashing, dispatch, and interfacing with couriers for its restaurant partners.