Several of your next food orders might be from the same 'mega ghost restaurant'

One result of the coronavirus pandemic has been the emergence of "ghost restaurants" -- the term applied to food and beverage establishments that offer no eat-in facilities, but which rely entirely on delivery services such as Uber Eats. 

"All it takes to start up a delivery-only ghost restaurant is a kitchen," widely published food journalist Hants Endo explains to Weekly Playboy (June 14). "The hurdles are low, since table space for eat-in isn't needed and the start-up and personnel costs can be kept to a minimum. Some businesses are even operating out of single rooms in condominiums or apartments." 

Nevertheless, thanks to strong demand via smartphone apps, some of these establishments are thriving, to the extent that some operate several different menus under the same roof. In the trade, these have been designated "mega ghost restaurants." 

"Recently it's come to the point that about one out of every two calls I receive are from the same shop," says a food delivery agent. "When I go there to pick up the food, the name of the service is different, but there's an instruction for us to the effect that "The shop's actual name is _____.'"  

Making the effort to confirm this, Weekly Playboy's writer found that several "shops" with different names were operating at the same address, with one specializing in fried chicken, another in maguro domburi (raw tuna slices over rice) and so on. As it turned out, the shop belongs to a chain of izakaya (Japanese pub restaurants). During daylight hours the shop does not accept eat-in customers, but specializing exclusively in delivery and takeout sales. 

"Almost all of these mega ghost restaurants are actually izakaya," the aforementioned Endo remarks. "Since izakaya require deep fryer equipment to prepare fried potatoes or chicken, it's easy for them to assume the trappings of  specialty franchises. 

"Also, the kitchens have large-size refrigerators and freezers, along with multiple gas burners, so it's easy for them to function simultaneously as if they were different franchises. I suspect that they operate these like side businesses on the one hand, while maintaining their status as a member of a franchise chain on the other. In this way, some can get to the point where they  operate under a dozen or more different names." 

As proof of its revelations, the article is accompanied by a partially blurred screen photo of instructions for Uber Eats staff that directs them to 12 different "specialty" services all operating at the same address.

Most of these establishments are prohibited by local regulations from providing alcoholic beverages with meals. 

Endo points out that the delivery and takeout operations are highly efficient, with pre-measured portions heated and plopped in a box,  with practically no waste involved. No do they have to pay for advertising to be listed on the apps. 

To cite an extreme example, one izakaya (location not given) was registered under 25 different specialty food names on a single app. 

But isn't this a problem? 

It's possible, Endo concedes, that such businesses might be in violation of the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Presentations, but it would be tough to make a case against them in court. 

"Except perhaps for the temperature and time needed to prepare the meals, there's hardly any differences in what goes into them.," he says. "They're set up like the meals in family restaurant chains, where the same dishes are served wherever you go. So there doesn't seem to have been any problems up to now." 

As long as current restrictions on restaurant operations persist, the article concludes, the sky's the limit for these mega ghost restaurants.

© Japan Today