Aaron Anderson, franchise owner of four The Original Hot Dog Factory restaurants in Philadelphia, has teamed up with Chef Reuben Harley to open Big Rube’s Kitchen, a series of three ghost kitchens specializing in fried chicken and Philly cheesesteaks.
“When you talk about chicken, it’s one of those indescribable loves you have – from the way it’s breaded to the way the meat tastes,” Anderson said.
Focused on food production
Ghost kitchens are designed for takeout and delivery food orders and, in many cases partner with third-party delivery services, like Grubhub or Uber Eats.
These concepts allow restaurants to focus on food production, rather than guest amenities like dining rooms or bathrooms. Sometimes, they are designed to give a restaurant flexibility, like focusing on coffee in the morning and then transitioning to another concept at night.
At other times, they can function like a food hall, where multiple branded kitchens operate in one facility.
Lower startup costs
Ghost kitchens typically have much lower startup costs than a typical dine-in restaurant.
“When you think about starting up a restaurant, it could cost you $300,000 to start a restaurant, and then you have to worry about front of house staff, such as your cashiers, and then also your kitchen staff,” said Anderson.
“A ghost kitchen comes with the ventilation and hood system already installed. When building out your restaurant, that is one of the most expensive costs. With a ghost kitchen, you only have to put in cooking equipment and shelves and from a staffing standpoint, it’s your two cooks in the kitchen.”
Anderson is the sole owner of four The Original Hot Dog Factories in Philadelphia, the co-owner of a Brooklyn location of The Original Hot Dog Factory and CEO of Axxeum Partners. In addition to the launch of Big Rube’s Kitchen, Anderson plans to open Steakhouse 1635 in the fall of 2021, which will serve as the blueprint for a new franchise of steakhouses across the U.S. and abroad.
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