Ghost Kitchens Find a Home in Empty Hotels

Ghost Kitchens Find a Home in Empty Hotels

Richard Zaro started his sandwich shop, Cutlets, in a hotel kitchen in Midtown Manhattan before moving it to its own location.Credit...Landon Nordeman for The New York TimesSkip to contentSkip to site indexSquare FeetGhost Kitchens Find a Home in Empty HotelsRestaurateurs hunting for cut-rate space in the pandemic are teaming up with eager partners in another beleaguered industry.Richard Zaro started his sandwich shop, Cutlets, in a hotel kitchen in Midtown Manhattan before moving it to its own location.Credit...Landon Nordeman for The New York TimesBy Debra KaminJan. 26, 2021, 9:00 a.m. ETRichard Zaro always wanted to open a chicken cutlet joint inspired by the deli sandwiches served across northern New Jersey, but the challenge was coming up with the required capital. The pandemic finally gave him an opportunity.Mr. Zaro's family has a long history in the restaurant business. In 1927, his great-grandfather Joseph Zarobchik founded the Zaro's Bakery chain, which today is a fixture for New York commuters with storefronts at Pennsylvania Station and Grand Central Terminal and across the city.But he wanted to start a concept of his own, and in the pandemic, he found a solution: the hotel industry, which, after months of hanging by a financial thread, was renting