Fact-checking this claim reveals mostly exaggeration, yet with a tinge of truth. First, the tinge of truth.

1. It is true that the weekly $600 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), which the federal government added atop any regular state-level unemployment, dramatically changed the attractiveness of low-wage employment in the U.S. from April through July.
2. It is true that many unemployed residents earned more at home from April to July than when they were working. University of Chicago researchers recently confirmed that for two-thirds of people who lost their jobs, their unemployment benefits exceeded what they had been earning.*
3. It is true that FPUC was responsible for a staggering 15% of the entire nation’s wages.
4. It is true that low-wage workplaces disproportionately require frequent interpersonal contact, including restaurants, which makes the risk of disease transmission higher, thus lessening the attractiveness of this work.
5. It is true that restaurants and other interpersonal workplaces are uniquely struggling to rehire, even when offering higher wages.

*Note: The extra $600 nationwide FPUC expired at the end of July. By President Trump’s Executive Order, states can continue paying benefits on a state-by-state, FEMA-based fund program that averages $300 per week and will likely only last until the end of August.

The chief strategist at restaurant research company Aaron Allen & Associates says that this is the first time this large of a cohort of workers has left the restaurant industry and voluntarily not returned.

However, and despite all of these valid criticisms of FPUC, the claim that most people would rather stay home and collect unemployment is mostly exaggeration.

1. Per our analysis, 1,461,700 workers returned to restaurant jobs in May. In June, an additional 1,483,400 in June. (Importantly, FPUC was in full force during that time, yet workers chose to return to work.)
2. Restaurant workers returned also in spite of the vast majority of restaurants being closed at that time — with seated diners averaging over 60% lower than pre-pandemic levels, as well as peak COVID-19 hospitalization rates.
3. As of this month, FPUC’s unprecedented payroll into the U.S. economy has expired. Most Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds, which were claimed in April and June under the program’s original eight-week payroll covenant, have also been expended. Therefore, for most furloughed workers, their artificially elevated unemployment compensation has ended or is ending soon. Today, or soon, they earn less than they could earn by working at their pre-coronavirus jobs.
4. Going forward, absent any additional legislative action, unemployment benefits will trend back toward their regular weekly benefit amount. Pre-coronavirus, the national average was $340 per week.
5. Finally, the most important consideration. Approximately one in four restaurants will permanently close this year. That means that roughly 3 million of the 12 million food service jobs that existed before COVID-19 will not return at all, for many months. Therefore, many people will observe former restaurant workers who are still at home collecting unemployment (three million, to be precise), but those victims cannot return to their jobs because they no longer exist. It is far too easy to blame observably unemployed people who formerly worked as “lazy,” but it is far more difficult to understand the magnitude of the permanent closure rate of the restaurant industry.

“So you’re seeing some chains like Papa John’s and Wingstop, who are setting these record-high numbers. Then, on the other side of that coin, you have full-service restaurants who are struggling, because the majority of full-service restaurants were generating close to 90% of their business inside before COVID-19.” So began my interview today with Danny Klein of Journalistic’s Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) Magazine.

Indeed, it seems as though every restaurant analyst is observing a widening “restaurant wealth gap.” We have already written extensively about large chains taking market share from independents.

“It’s obviously an unprecedented situation. I don’t think anyone could argue that,” continued Klein.

I asked Klein if he had any predictions about this year’s ultimate permanent closure rate for restaurants. He said that he had read numbers spanning from 15% to 70%. He notes that Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds are somewhat distorting current data, making it difficult to decipher the true state of the industry by the end of the year.

“Owners had to make a decision — whether to keep their employees and get that [PPP] loan forgiven, or to take a gamble that they could rebound to prior sales levels.” Indeed, our analysis shows that at least $36 billion of PPP funds directly benefited the restaurant industry, and a new $120 billion package is gaining Congressional cosponsorship by the day.

Klein concurs, cautiously optimistic about an additional fiscal assistance that might provide help independent restaurants survive, such as some modified form of the aforementioned $120 billion Restaurants Act of 2020.

“I don’t think Congress ever talked to anyone who ran a restaurant before, because so much of PPP was just unrealistic. Even on the unemployment insurance and the benefits, that being expanded to $600 a week was huge. In low-wage industries, which of course the restaurant space is in, these furloughed employees were making, I don’t remember the percentage, but it was into the triple digits — more than they would make if they went back to work! So it was simple, why don’t I just take a four month break?”

Klein commented on restaurant real estate prices, which we have also analyzed. “Even if you have a really high closure rate, you will then see chains flood into that real estate. We’ve heard a lot about brands like Chipotle and Domino’s taking their capital to then go buy these A and B class sites that pop onto the market.” Klein’s extensive analysis of Chipotle can be found here. Domino’s recently announced that it is hiring a staggering 20,000 workers.

Klein concluded, “What’s really number one right now is capacity limits on indoor dining. If we don’t get past 50% occupancy, the reality is that just most operators who are not backed by some kind of massive capital buffer — whether it’s an equity firm or the public sector — they’re just not gonna make it. There isn’t a lot you can do to get around that reality. That 50% capacity is not enough for the vast majority of restaurants in this country.”

Photo by billow926 on Unsplash

Hurricane Laura is a Category 4 hurricane that will likely be the worst hurricane to hit Beaumont, Lafayette, and other Northwest gulf coast cities in over a century. Coastal restaurants from Texas to Mississippi are closed.

• “Streets are already underwater in Beaumont,” tweeted one resident with a photo of a local restaurant at 3pm ET.
• Mamacitas Mexican Restaurant is following official advice and is closed.
• Eater Houston posted a list of restaurants in Galveston who were bracing for the impact of Hurricane Laura.

Residents in areas with evacuation warnings should evacuate immediately, even if they have not finished shuttering and barricading. Evacuation traffic is a severe and potentially life-threatening concern.

All restaurants in evacuation areas should be closed and focused on leaving safely and following official guidance. Wind and water levels are already swelling along the Gulf Coast as Laura’s dangerous storm surge approaches.

Although this article’s language might sound alarmist, it reflects official warnings from the National Hurricane Center.

At 5 p.m., the Center said that Hurricane Laura is the second-highest rank on its Saffir-Simpson wind scale and its winds of 145 miles per hour are just 10 miles per hour shy of becoming a Category 5. 

Laura will pummel Louisiana and Texas coasts with up to a 20-foot storm surge, extreme winds, flash floods, and possible tornado spawns.

Also at 5 p.m., the Center warned unequivocally that an “unsurvivable storm surge with large and destructive waves will cause catastrophic damage.” It further warned, “this surge could penetrate up to 40 miles inland from the immediate coastline, and flood waters will not fully recede for several days after the storm.”

At 6 p.m., the Center said that sustained tropical-storm-force winds and heavy rains are beginning to spread onshore in central Louisiana.

Nicole Fantiny, the manager Starfish Restaurant along the barrier island of Grand Isle, south of New Orleans, could see an exodus of people driving off the island.

Hurricane-force winds will hit tonight and continue all day tommorrow. Laura may cause $15 billion in insured losses.

Over 80% of gulf oil production and one third of the region’s refining capacity is offline in preparation for the storm.

Space photograph showing an aerial view of Hurricane Laura as of Wednesday afternoon courtesy of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

At their lowest moment — already unable to make rent — a restaurant owner can be kicked again while down. The Authorised Guarantee Agreement specifies that an outgoing tenant can be held responsible for some obligations of an incoming tenant.

Popularized in English courts (on which U.S. judiciary is based) for many leases signed after January 1996, this landlord-friendly clause is commonly included within many commercial rental contracts.

Not sure if your contract includes an Authorised Guarantee Agreement? Now is as good a time as ever to investigate.

Note: Authorized is the customary U.S. spelling; authorised is the customary U.K. spelling. Both terms are interchangeable.

A tenant who wishes to “sublet” (assign) a lease that contains an Authorized Guarantee Agreement will have responsibility for the assignee’s performance of the contractual obligations for a specified length of time, usually a few months.

What does that mean in practice?

Consider Various Eateries, a restaurant operator with ambiance brands like Coppa Club and Strada. Due to the collapse of in-person dining during COVID-19, Various Eateries could no longer afford rent at 13 locations.

Being a responsible tenant, it found another tenant to sublet the remaining months of its leases. Various Eateries moved out. New tenants moved in.

Problem solved. Right?

Well, those new tenants were burger chain Byron, as well as Zizzi’s by Azzurri Group. Both assignees were restaurants by necessity. The buildings were zoned for dining and equipped with kitchens and dining fixtures.

As the reader might already be guessing, shortly after moving in, the coronavirus did not ease. Byron and Zizzi’s started running out of cash. Tragically, both of the assignees are now in bankruptcy-like voluntary business administration.

So the landlord called Hugh Osmond, an owner of Various Eateries. They wanted rent. Yes, rent for locations that he no longer occupied.

“It would have been millions,” Osmond said. He barely remembered signing that Authorized Guarantee Agreement.

Osmond says AGAs are an “unbelievable feature of the market that in healthy times doesn’t matter much, but under COVID it’s a chain reaction.”

The Financial Times outlined similar AGA nightmares being experienced today by Yo! Sushi, PizzaExpress (see Restaurant Engine’s latest article on PizzaExpress), Brasserie Bar Company, and many other restaurants. Reporters say that under many AGA clauses, landlords are permitted to collect a staggering six months of rent arrears — yes, from previous tenants, who were not occupying that space during the time in question.

For questions pertaining to your lease, seek the advice of a certified attorney with an active license in your area of residence.

Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash

“We’re doing a lot more sanitation. Everybody’s wearing masks. We closed our dining room.” So began our phone conversation last week with Ohio chef Jordan Hamons, enumerating practices that nearly all restaurant owners in the country have been forced to adopt this year.

At the top of mind for Hamons has been staff and customer safety. “We’re pretty quick about getting people tested, especially if they show symptoms,” continued Hamons. “Fortunately, we haven’t really had any issues with our staff. We haven’t had anybody get it [COVID-19].”

Despite the closure of her dining room and the unprecedented decline in restaurant attendance nationwide, Hamons’ current restaurant has “stayed pretty steady.” She explained how maintaining multiple streams of revenue for her business helped with her resilience as an operator, “We’ve always done takeout and delivery anyway, so we haven’t felt a big decline.”

Every restaurant is adapting this year. Masks are now required by all customers and staff in all Starbucks locations worldwider. Even the 64-year-old KFC has sunsetted its iconic “finger lickin’ good” slogan, as the coronavirus has taught us all about the risk of fomite-transmitted infection. KFC marketing materials will simply say “it’s good,” rather than “it’s finger lickin’ good,” until the company decides on its next motto.

(Find more information about how COVID-19 is transmitted from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. Be wary of any celebrity or media outlet advice regarding disease prevention.)

Even Bloomberg’s Joe Weisenthal sympathized with the onerous regulations placed on New York City restaurants. “You see restaurants trying to make it work with outside seating, plexiglass, turning the tables and spaces and sidewalks into places to dine, but you can tell it’s pretty tough.” Weisenthal continued, “And you also have to contend with multiple waves of coronavirus cases, which means that the regulations are constantly changing… I imagine if you’re a restaurant owner that already has very slim profit margins, it makes it really, really difficult to plan ahead, buy supplies, buy food, organize, you know, waiters, waitresses, schedules, and things like that. It seems brutal.”

That puts it mildly. At least one in four restaurants will permanently close this year, the highest rate of single-year bankruptcy in decades. The unemployment rate in Manhattan is the same as it was during some years of the Great Depression. Tragically, the suicide rate is also at its highest level since World War II. The percentage drop in U.S. second quarter GDP is the biggest collapse on record, worse than the lowest trough of the Great Depression.

“Just like the thought of having a business and trying to navigate this right now, just excruciating,” concluders Weisenthal.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania restaurant owner Adam Ozimek chimes in with his thoughts, “This is a really tough challenge, because you want to be a responsible member of your community when you see this risk.” He expresses a dilemma pondered by many restaurant owners, “Do we shut down and just, like, let the bars who are not safe absorb all the customers? Or do we wait?”

The rate of currently hospitalized patients with COVID-19 has fallen for one full month, but the battle is far from over. New deaths since yesterday total 572, and there are currently 38,657 patients hospitalized with the disease.

Graphic by The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic (CC BY-NC-4.0). Photo by Nicolas J Leclercq on Unsplash

One in four restaurants will permanently close by the end of the year, costing the country millions of jobs and at least one full percentage point of GDP.

Yet for many of the country’s large and publicly traded restaurants, business would seem to be nothing but all-time highs.

Disproportionate beneficiaries of government stimulus, prestigious banking relationships, and large capital buffers, their valuations tell the candid story of the U.S. recovery.

Consider McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) whose stock price dipped as low as -37% during the trough of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of today, its share price has fully recovered and then some, trading 6% higher than its January 2, 2020 opening trade.

Del Taco (NASDAQ:TACO) is enjoying the same 6% year to date (YTD) gain. Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) is not far behind, gaining 4% YTD.

All of these companies have strong drive-through installations that have buoyed sales.

Even publicly traded, sit-down dining franchise Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) was able to pivot into food delivery during coronavirus. Shares closed for trading today 7% higher YTD.

Contrast those growth rates — not with the growth rates of independent restaurants — but rather with the forecasts of independent restaurants’ bankruptcy rates.

Although owner-operated restaurants do not have intraday quotations of their shares on public exchanges, closures could exceed three in four if no additional fiscal stimulus passes Congress’ current gridlock. More realistically, estimates for the actual closure rate of owner-operated restaurants was estimated at 25% in April, and that percentage just received a strong reiteration by OpenTable’s CEO this month.

Small restaurants also rely heavily on third-party delivery services, with up to three in four UberEats partner restaurants claiming they would have closed without the support of its app-initiated food orders.

As of data from July 10, of Yelp’s 26,160 restaurateurs who reported as ostensibly “temporary,” tragically 60% of them had permanently closed. For the remainder, their rate of temporary closure has unfortunately been falling relative to their rate of permanent closure.

• Domino’s (NYSE:DPZ) is up 41% YTD.
• Papa John’s (NASDAQ:PZZA) has rallied a stunning 58%.
• Even Noodles & Company (NASDAQ:NDLS) is up 57% YTD.
• Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) has rallied a staggering 84% YTD.

Public companies that compose prestigious indices — such as S&P 500 constituents Darden Restaurants, Domino’s, McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Yum! Brands — preferentially benefit from passive investment. Passive investment is ultimately responsible for 40% of all U.S. investment inflows, according to analysis from Logica‘s Mike Green.

Large restaurants with even billionaire owners also received free government handouts. We reported on billionaires receiving forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Staff reporting on this subject earned the title and cover of Forbes magazine.

Today, CDC Director Robert Redfield revealed his estimate that between 30 and 60 million people in the U.S. might have COVID-19 antibodies. He reminded listeners that in some areas, that rate could locally equal less than 1% of the population; in other areas, it could exceed 20%. Herd immunity in the Spanish Flu was achieved once approximately 20% of the U.S. population had antibodies.

Note: The infection, transmission, and fatality rates of COVID-19 are distinct from the Spanish Flu.

Fortunately, we do know that the hospitalization rate has fallen for four consecutive weeks. There are currently 41,968 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S.

Graphic by The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic (CC BY-NC-4.0). Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

Yo’ Mama’s Restaurant

Although national statistics and insights from restaurant lobbyists on Capitol Hill can be helpful, sometimes the best place to go for real advice is a local owner-operator. So we called Crystal Peterson, co-owner of a legendary eatery in Birmingham, Alabama.

This is what Yo’ Mama’s has to say.

“Well, COVID-19 happened. We had to really change our business model. When you’re doing house dining, and then you can’t,” encapsulating the whiplash experienced by far too many restaurant owners.

“Because we are such a small facility. We had to just do only take-out. We can’t allow anyone to sit inside, because the amount of people that I have on carry-out, they won’t be able to stand inside while the people inside eat. We may only have so many people in the building, and my building is like 1,300 square feet, so you already know!”

This is the unfortunate circumstance for many restaurants. Being forced to keep patrons six feet apart translates into de facto forced closure of sit-down dining areas. Although a small price to pay to keep people safe, it is a hefty cost for businesses with famously thin profit margins.

Peterson said that online orders have become a welcome respite. She quickly focused on training her staff to prioritize printed tickets the same as hand-delivered tickets from in-person diners.

“Seeing tickets that somebody else made, not that I had literally put together when in-house. When you’re online, you just click.” 

All restaurant owners can benefit from Peterson’s advice: Train back-of-house staff to prioritize computer-generated paper slips with the same urgency as formerly handwritten orders.

The Peterson family started Yo’ Mama’s in 2014. The restaurant served gluten-free southern comfort food for patrons concerned about celiac and wheat allergies. Today, the local establishment has tens of thousands of followers across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Three years ago, the Cooking Channel featured the restaurant on its Cheap Eats TV show.

The long road to recovery in the U.S. restaurant industry continues. Approximately 65% of restaurants are accepting dining reservations. Seated diners are still 55% lower than pre-pandemic levels. When adjusted for only those restaurants which are accepting reservations, seated diners number only one third lower today than pre-COVID-19.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tallied 520 new COVID-19 deaths today. Current hospitalizations with the disease fell for the third consecutive week to 43,747, but are still substantially higher than June.

Image courtesy of Instagram

Two restaurant industry experts share their insights regarding the state of the restaurant industry. Debby Soo, OpenTable’s new CEO, discussed on television her outlook for U.S. restaurants amid the COVID-19 downturn. She also added thoughts on Canadian operations.

Secondly, Upwork’s Chief Economist Adam Ozimek contributes his thoughts. Ozimek also operates an independent restaurant in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; he describes it as an all-in-one restaurant, bowling alley, arcade, and bar. In an interview with Bloomberg Radio, he explained how individual operators can adapt, as well as what the restaurant industry needs from national policymakers.

Soo begins by acknowledging the plight of restaurants who are experiencing unpredictable regulatory whiplash. “We’re seeing a lot of trends as restaurants open, and then having to close, as the pandemic is spiking in the particular regions.” Indeed, it is impossible to plan for food service when signed laws change by the day.

Ozimek sympathizes with restaurant owners experiencing regulatory whiplash. “Everything seems to constantly be changing. Imagine if you’re a restaurant owner that already has very slim profit margins. It makes it really, really difficult to plan ahead, buy supplies, buy food, organize, waiters, waitresses, schedules, and things like that.”

Soo points to OpenTable’s improving survey results. “The good news is that people in the U.S. and Canada are dining out again. We conducted a recent survey, and 25% of those respondents said that they are dining out now, at least once a week.”

That is indeed good news, especially when compared to near-zero seated diners from March 20 through the full month of April, per OpenTable data. The improving survey results also coincide with a falling U.S. hospitalization rate of COVID-19 infected patients.

Graphic by The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic (CC BY-NC-4.0)

Soo continues, “We’re seeing outdoor reservations also up 20% year-over-year.” This matches data from other providers, including the National Restaurant Association, which confirms the rebound in outdoor dining, buoyed in part by summer weather.

Regarding coronavirus containment, Ozimek rightly notes that restaurants cannot cointain a pandemic. He calls for official enforcement, “We really need the government to step in. You can’t just rely on businesses to do he shutdowns themselves because, you know, there’s one jerk bar in town that is never going to close, unless you make them. Then that place, all the people who don’t care about safety are just going to pile into that place. And infection is just going to be way worse than if everything sort of stayed open.”

Soo acknowledges the increased opportunity costs of cleaning and safety standards. “Restaurants are spending a lot of time, because diners really care about safety. They are limiting capacity, that they have signs, hand sanitizer, signs highlighting things like contact, PPE [personal protective equipment], employees wearing masks. So, that’s very much top of mind for both restaurants and diners.”

Unfortunately, Soo’s data and expertise have not altered her company’s official forecast for a permanent restaurant closure rate of 25% during the remaining pandemic fallout. “We’re on the front lines of this. And we, we actually think that 25%, or one in four restaurants, are not going to survive. And at this point, we think that it might even be conservative, more grim.”

During the call, Soo acknowledged her support for the $120b Restaurants Act of 2020. Today, celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern repeated his endorsement. Additional support poured in from restaurateurs around the country this month. “Please contact Congress to #SaveRestaurants” tweeted restaurant owner Virginia Miller. “Can’t believe this is 2020 #saverestaurants” tweeted chef Tia McDonald. “Coronavirus is hitting restaurants hard. We need Congress to help restaurants before it’s too late,” said Sabrina Espinal.

The Independent Restaurant Coalition is collecting stories from negatively affected restaurant owners for use in its Congressional lobbying efforts to advance the Restaurants Act of 2020. Restaurant Engine’s latest analysis of the bill is available here.

Since our analysis one week ago, cosponsorship of the Real Economic Support That Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed to Survive (RESTAURANTS) Act of 2020 has increased by 14 lawmakers in the House of Representatives, up from last week’s 163 to today’s 177.

An unprecedentedly large $120 billion stimulus package focused entirely on the food service industry, the bill will prioritize funds for small and independently operated restaurants.

Another 41 cosponsors from today’s 177 are needed in the House of Representatives in order to gain a majority vote, which would pass the bill to the Senate.

The bill also gained an additional Senator this week. Today, the influential Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced his cosponsorship.

“I am proud to stand with the Independent Restaurant Coalition and support the Restaurants Act to give restaurants the relief they need to weather this crisis so they can eventually fully reopen and bring back to work millions of workers who have lost their jobs,” said Schumer.

Last week, there were 25 Restaurants Act cosponsors in the Senate. Schumer was its lone addition this week.

In total, Senate plus House cosponsors total 203, or 38% of the 535-member bicameral legislature.

During the second quarter, restaurants and bars were responsible for a $220 billion reduction in GDP. Those businesses received just $42 billion of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

• TikTok clips tagged with SaveRestaurants have generated 33,000 views.
• Users have created 70,230 Instagram posts tagged SaveRestaurants.

Larry Kudlow, Director of the White House National Economic Council, said the White House would support the Restaurants Act of 2020.

U.S. residents who support the bill should contact their elected representatives and indicate their support. Readers may also e-sign a petition in support.

The rate of COVID-19 hospitalization has fallen since July 24. Currently, 45,826 patients are hospitalized with the disease. The CDC has recorded 5.2 million cases and tallied 166,317 deaths.

OpenTable’s CEO reiterated her forecast this week that at least 25% of restaurants will permanently close this year, which is conservative in our analysis.

Graphic by The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic (CC BY-NC-4.0)

Cloud kitchens, also known as ghost kitchens, are virtual restaurant brands that have distinct listings on food delivery apps, yet share a physical kitchen with other “restaurants.”

For example, the in-app DoorDash listing for It’s Just Wings is actually a cloud kitchen menu. Chili’s cooks those wings. The parent company of both brands, Brinker International (NYSE:EAT), disclosed that It’s Just Wings already generates $3m in weekly sales since it launched in June.

Cloud kitchen and ghost kitchen are interchangeable descriptions. Both names have roughly tripled in popularity over the past few years. Google indexes 860,000 results for “cloud kitchen” and 584,000 results for “ghost kitchen.”

Source: Google Trends

California’s large population, and especially its Silicon Valley area, prefer the term “cloud kitchen.” One Californian, Jeff Appelbaum, even gained a Shark Tank appearance for his cloud kitchen called Salted. He failed to secure a deal from the TV panel of investors.

Other companies in the cloud kitchen industry include Horeko, Food Bear, Dietfoodi, Bigspoon, Box8, Tunton, CloudEats, Karma Kitchen, Caterbinge, Zesty Kitchen, Cloud Franchise, Hubfunction, iKcon, Muy, U-Kitchen, Rebel Foods, GrubTech, Kitchens Centre, Kludio, Darth Kitchen, Foodledoodle, Caspers Kitchen Ventures, Stall Hunt, Quaadbotics, Kitchen United, Farm Theory, Kitopi, Rolling Plates, Samosa Party Foods, Ghost Kitchen, Crave Delivery, Dahmakan, ShiftPixy, Butler Hospitality, and Zoku Sushi. Even the bizarre founder of Uber, Travis Kalanick, claims to be working on CloudKitchens.

Several of these companies are attracting substantial investment.

• Box8 raised $14m.
• Muy raised $15m.
• Dahmakan raised $18m.
• Kitchen United raised $40m.
• Rebel Foods raised $50m.
• Panda Selected raised $50m.
• Kitopi raised a $60m Series B round.
• CloudKitchens raised $400m.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, restaurants must innovate to survive. OpenTable’s new CEO reiterated her forecast that at least one-quarter of restaurants will close this year. As Bloomberg reported today, ghost kitchens “can be a boon for restaurants looking to cut costs, particularly at a time when health concerns and capacity limits put a strain on operations.”

Photo by Sushobhan Badhai on Unsplash