Currently, City Kitchen in Wesley Heights has 20 food operations.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A new Charlotte restaurateur is accelerating business thanks to a new approach to the shared kitchen concept.
City Kitch provides chefs with space to work, and they just added a front lobby and are seeing a huge increase in sales. Now, diners can walk inside the Wesley Heights location, order on a monitor, and eat in the space. All of this translates into more business for restaurateurs.
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“We took a gamble and thought we could build and expand the business in the future,” Tim Burns said.
He is the owner of Queen City Cheesesteak. This family-run business, which just celebrated its first anniversary, does its cooking in one of his kitchens in City Kitchen (so-called ghost kitchens).
“By providing access to a shared kitchen, we have reduced the capital costs required to run a food business,” explained Liz Wren, who runs City Kitch.
Burns said he has noticed a change.
“If you're renting space instead of installing a walk-in cooler, you'll need to source small quantities. You can get them at a discount through our partnership with City Kitch, so you can keep your costs low and especially manage your food costs. ” Burns said.
The Wesley Heights kitchen currently hosts 20 food operations. City Kitch has two other locations in North Carolina, and he's just started a new initiative to help his tenants be even more successful.
“When you think about ghost kitchens, you think about anonymity. We don't want that. We want to bring chefs and local businesses as close as possible to the people who want to support them. '' Len said.
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The Wesley Heights kitchen now has a larger, more decorated front lobby for customers to dine in. Additionally, kiosks have been set up for in-person as well as online ordering.
Chefs are already reaping the benefits, saying their sales are up by a whopping 50% to 60%.
“It's been very helpful. We've seen a huge improvement,” Burns said.
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He said working collaboratively with like-minded chefs was another unexpected benefit.
“That's been an important part of our success. The many relationships we've built over time with other chefs have helped us understand some of the things you don't know when starting a business. ” Burns said. In a community where there are other concepts, you start learning how to hone your skills. ”
For Burns, it's: Businessman and chef.
Contact Michelle Boudin at mboudin@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook. X And Instagram.
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