A parking facility company turned virtual restaurant leader has plans to open a ghost kitchen in the heart of San Diego's La Jolla Village.
Reef Technology was founded in 2013 and is now considered the largest ghost kitchen operator in the United States with a business model centered around transforming parking facilities into virtual restaurants through the use of mobile trailers. Originally known as ParkJockey, the business previously operated as a parking facilities company offering a digital solution to paper tickets for parking customers across 5,000 lots and garages in North America.
Reef launched its virtual restaurant arm, Reef Kitchens, at the end of 2019. Last year, the company raised $700 million to grow from 4,800 locations to 10,000 in the U.S. Just this year, the Miami-based tech company has announced partnerships with the likes of TGIFridays, Wendy's, Milk Bar, Bennigans, Del Taco, and 800 Degrees Pizza to open delivery-only locations around the U.S., Canada and international markets.
Public records show Reef intends to use space within a parking garage on Prospect Street in La Jolla to launch its first San Diego location. There is no word yet on what restaurant(s) will operate from the property. Rather than operating based on monthly fees, Reef's mobile NBRHD ("Neighborhood") Kitchens use a licensing model where they make a percentage of the parent brand's profits. Reef handles the day-to-day management of the kitchens, including all staffing and training.
Virtual, online-only "ghost kitchens" are a growing business trend as diners more frequently choose to have meals delivered rather than eating at restaurants. The eateries usually operate solely via online delivery apps like Postmates, UberEats, Doordash and GrubHub. Many delivery-exclusive ghost kitchen concepts now operate in San Diego, including FlavorTown Kitchen by Guy Fieri, MrBeast Burger, George Lopez Tacos, and CloudKitchens' Barrio Food Hub - a 10,000 square-foot kitchen-filled warehouse founded by the former CEO of Uber. There is also a second CloudKitchens location named Aztec Food Hub opening soon in San Diego's College Area.
The first San Diego Reef virtual kitchen will launch next year at 1205 Prospect Street in La Jolla. For more information, visit reeftechnology.com/kitchens.
