What are ghost kitchens and why are they popping up around Topeka?
TOPEKA (KSNT) - A new type of food business that has gained popularity since the pandemic is growing its market in northeast Kansas.
If you've ordered food online in the past few years, you may have noticed restaurants like Denny's, On The Border, or Chili's have separate menus under a different business name. These are called 'ghost kitchens.'
In Topeka, one local brewery teamed up with a local ghost kitchen to serve great beer and BBQ.
"It gave them something kind of neat," Beyond Q Owner Tim Miller said. "A little different experience. You walk up to a window, we're almost like a food truck inside of a building."
Ghost kitchens are a newer type of business. They essentially operate as their own business but can share a kitchen or certain resources with established restaurants.
Below are a list of ghost kitchens currently in Topeka:
On the Border -
- Mr. Beast Burger
- Taco Riot
- Buddy V's
- Man Vs. Fries
- Pardon My Cheesecake
Denny's -
- The Burger Den
- The Meltdown
Happy Basset Brewery -
- Beyond Q BBQ
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, all establishments must have a sufficient food safety system to prevent product contamination and hazards that could arise from sharing a space with another restaurant.
"We're under one license," Miller said. "When you're brewing beer, you have to be very clean. I mean, that's what it's all about, and we're the same way with our kitchen."
Miller says Beyond Q serves as a great companion to the popular local brewery.
"It helps sell beer and the beer helps sell BBQ," Miller said. "Craft beer which is kind of like craft BBQ, you know, both take a long time and a lot of patience and a lot of passion."