Smashburger’s president explains why the company is shunning ghost kitchen and instead focusing on prime real estate

Smashburger’s president explains why the company is shunning ghost kitchen and instead focusing on prime real estate

Fast-casual chain Smashburger is planning to utilize a range of delivery aggregators, new technology, and busy suburban locations to scale up its operations and reach new customer segments. Ghost kitchens, the company said, are not part of its current growth plan, though. 

Smashburger will open more than 40 new restaurants in 2021. Although the chain has focused on a dine-in model in the past across its more than 250 corporate and franchised restaurants worldwide, it plans to pivot to offer more takeout and collection services, a trend accelerated by the pandemic.

The focus is on replicating a dine-in style experience even for customers who choose to dine at home, Carl Bachmann, Smashburger's president, told Insider.

The chain aims to "create comfort in uncomfortable times," he added.

More and more customers are eating at home during the pandemic, and not always because of government-mandated restaurant closures. Smashburger now generates around 2% of its revenues from dine-in service, Bachmann said. Before the pandemic, this was 60%.

Digital and call-in orders have increased more than five-fold, he added.

Though the new restaurants were planned before the pandemic, they'll offer customers contactless ways to collect food. This includes using food lockers, which the company calls "cubbies," to keep food hot