What’s Inside New Hybrid Ghost Kitchens

Barbara Castiglia

April 28, 2021

Barbara Castiglia

commercial kitchen

commissary kitchen

Delivery

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Food is serious business. Now, on The Main Course, host Barbara Castiglia will invite insiders on the front lines of food to share their expertise, strategies, and forecasts for navigating the ever-changing restaurant industry.

Ghost kitchens are now part of the vernacular, as delivery became the go-to for restaurants during the pandemic. Those trends, coupled with the lack of commercial kitchen spaces for food startups, led Camilla Opperman and Samantha Slager to launch Nimbus, a hybrid between a traditional commissary kitchen and a ghost kitchen. The Main Course host Barbara Castiglia spoke to them about the concept and the future of ghost kitchens.

Opperman explained the business. “We offer premium commercial kitchens for lease. We have ghost kitchens dedicated to delivery options. We also have shared spaces that are rentable by the hour or day.”

Their space, located in NYC’s lower east side, also has a front of house perfect for dinner parties and studio kitchens to create content.

The idea for the concept came to Opperman when she searched for a kitchen to start a concept. “None of the solutions were appropriate, so I pivoted to solve the problem.”

Opperman met Slager through a mutual friend, and her background in sales and marketing made the pair a great team. “I was blown away by the idea and opportunity,” she added.

They opened the kitchen during the pandemic, which turned out rather well. Slager said, “People came to us who had lost their spaces as well as operators that were figuring out delivery and needed to expand to new markets.”

Besides providing the facility and infrastructure, Nimbus also connects members to preferred partners to help with marketing, ingredient procurement, and labor.

In discussing the future of the segment, Opperman believes things look bright. “Ghost kitchens like Nimbus are the future. The old restaurant infrastructure isn’t set up for delivery. With in-dining experiences coming back, restaurants will need space to facilitate delivery. Our front of house is also designed for events. Its’ the best of both worlds.”