🍔 The Billion-Dollar Secret Hiding in Your Takeout Bag

Hey friend,

Today: are the Kardashians secretly flipping burgers from abandoned malls? + how ghost brands hijack our delivery apps, and 3 ways to profit from the greatest sleight-of-hand in culinary history.

The Story

Last month, I ordered tacos, sushi, pasta, burgers, and wings from five different restaurants. Yet every single dish arrived from the exact same kitchen: a random warehouse that used to be a Sears.

Welcome to the world of ghost kitchens.

Every time you swipe through delivery apps, you're seeing dozens of restaurants that are actually the same kitchen with different logos.

I looked into it and found that a ghost kitchen cuts startup costs from aprox $1mill to just $20,000, turning profits in 90 days instead of three years. Honestly, it’s kind of a no brainer.

MrBeast, DJ Khaled, Tyga, Mariah Carey—all run digital restaurant empires you can order from tonight—celebrity restaurants without the celebrities (or the restaurants).

This isn't just disrupting food. It's the complete separation of brand from infrastructure, and it’s silently revolutionizing dozens of industries.

And here’s where your slice of the pie comes in...

How To Profit

• The Digital Food Hall

Imagine a single app where your spouse orders sushi, your kids get burgers, and you get Thai food—all delivered in one bag, at the same time, with one delivery fee. That's a digital food hall.

1. Create a platform that partners with EXISTING ghost kitchens in multiple neighborhoods.

2. Organize their diverse restaurant concepts into digital "food halls" based on location.

3. Let customers order from multiple kitchens within each hub with one delivery fee.

Pro tip: Focus on curation rather than quantity. Partner only with ghost kitchens that maintain consistent quality and complementary cuisine types.

• Democratizing Chefs

There are thousands of incredible home cooks in your city who make dishes you'd pay good money for—but have no way to sell them legally. Until now.

1. Rent a commercial kitchen and divide it into time slots rather than permanent stations.

2. Recruit home cooks with signature dishes—the grandmother with legendary fish stew, the neighbor with authentic pasta recipes handed down for generations.

3. Handle all licensing, insurance, delivery logistics, and marketing while they just show up and cook.

Pro tip: Create themed nights that build anticipation. "Sunday Grandma Specials" featuring rotating grandmothers' signature dishes. Take it further with a premium "Rent My Grandma" service where top-performing home cooks prepare family recipes on-site for private events.

• The Customizable Menu

Ever see a mouth-watering dish on TikTok or Instagram that you're desperate to try, but the restaurant is in another city? Just send the link, and we'll make it for you.

1. Create a virtual restaurant that accepts links to recipes, food videos, or photos as "orders."

2. Employ versatile chefs who can recreate viral dishes based on visual references.

3. Charge premium prices (30-40% above standard delivery) for these custom recreations.

Pro tip: Implement outbound messages based on previous order history. "Hey Sarah, this is Alex. You ordered that viral TikTok pasta last Friday. We just perfected the Gigi Hadid vodka sauce you liked last month. Could deliver in 15 minutes if you're hungry." These personal, timely offers convert at 4x the rate of standard promotions.

From Ace’s Desk

Discovered scribbled in Ace's private notes, circa 1924:

Bonus Question of the Week

How can you take the concept of ghost kitchens and apply it to other industries?

Reply with your ideas—we read and respond to every email.

Until next time,

Alex

Founder //LZY MNY CLB