Being an entrepreneur entails long hours at the office, managing the finances, overseeing employees, and partnering with other vendors. According to Forbes, 58% of small business owners work more than 50 hours a week. Needless to say, it can be a stressful and expensive endeavor. Rarely do we see the money, time, and energy a business owner invests behind closed doors. So, a sushi restaurant owner is pulling the curtain to unveil the reality of managing a ghost kitchen.
What is a ghost kitchen?
Ghost kitchens (also known as ‘virtual’ or ‘dark’ kitchens) are digital restaurants that operate out of various facilities, focusing on fulfilling online orders and deliveries. Because of this, they lack the traditional dining space that restaurants have. Despite this, Toast reports that operating a single location can cost between $20,000 and $60,000. Over the years, ghost kitchens have grown in popularity, particularly during COVID-19, driven by increased demand for delivery services.
A sneak peek into running a ghost kitchen
Sunny Bertsch (@kaisenhtx) is the owner of Houston-based ghost kitchen, Kaisen Sushi, located at Blodgett Food Hall. Typically, he gives his 13,000 followers authentic glimpses into the reality of running one.
In this clip, he shares what he is up to at almost midnight. “I just finished payroll that [cost] $8,321 for last week,” he says. “I just paid a bunch of bills.”
Then, he gestures to a green-screened photo of his bank statement of what is remaining in his account: $3,451 is in his business checking account, $2,272 is in his personal account, and $65 is in his personal savings.
“This photo you’re seeing is what my bank accounts look like right now. I paid $3,500 in bills so far and there’s another $1,700 that still is gonna get drawn tomorrow,” he says.
A mountain of upcoming payments
But this is only the tip of the iceberg.
“I still have $400 worth of wasabi to pay for before the end of the week and still have to buy produce for the week,” he continues. “I have to buy more sushi trays and I have to make an emergency order for custom bags from China.”
“This is what it’s like to have a successful new ghost kitchen restaurant,” Bertsch states.
Nevertheless, customer value is where he’s focused: “My motivations and priorities are just to get new customers in the door, and the hope is that at least 30-40% of them become lifelong customers in the long run.”
In addition, these are better numbers than normal. ”It’s only been 11 days so far and we’re actually doing good because normally by the end of today or after payroll, I’m left with literally hundreds of dollars left in the bank account,” he says.
Overall, the content creator has no issues disclosing the numbers. “There are so many restaurants in Houston that are completely full of [expletive] and I hate watching them put up this ridiculous front,” he adds. “This industry is full of really bad people.”
Viewers applaud the authenticity
The video amassed 2.3 million views. In the comments section, many appreciated Bertsch’s reality of operating a business and offered words of encouragement.
“Being able to pay employees is the real flex. Keep going,” the top comment with over 34k wrote.
“KEEP GOING, KEEP POSTING, KEEP NETWORKING. You’re not in the red, that’s a blessing! It truly can go from here… you got this!” another commented.
“Wishing you nothing but success in the future,” a third stated.
As a result, some raced to order Kaisen Sushi.
“I think I need to go check out kaisen sushi!” one commenter said.
“I’m gonna pull up this weekend sir,” a second agreed.
@kaisenhtx Sorry for the long video. I’ve included some more screenshots of my Net30 vendors to main distributors I use the most. And today had so many developments, including one major one.
♬ original sound – KaisenHTX
A deeper dive
In a follow-up video, Bertsch offered an in-depth look into his company after a rough day at work.
“I just finished paying a bunch of bills tonight,” he says, several invoices popping up on the screen. Next, another bank statement shows all his Uber Eats revenue and fees. After all expenses, he is left with $13,283 in his account.
“It’s actually going to creep lower tomorrow because there’s another bill that’s scheduled to draw from my account,” he adds. “This is just what life is like right now as a business owner of a small ghost kitchen that puts out a lot of sushi.”
Moreover, the content creator revealed how much he will spend on his products. “I owe about $35,000 to my tuna and salmon provider, and about $35,000 to my main dry goods and frozen goods provider, JFC, who also provides me all my Japanese fish,” he reveals. “I’ve got 70 or 80k in outstanding net 30 invoices. Those two numbers are just from the last 45 days alone of operating.”
However, these numbers didn’t include payroll. “It totaled to about $9,200,” Bertsch said. “I took out about $1,000 so that I could pay some monthly health insurance and medical bills.” Fortunately, more revenue is due to hit his bank account soon. “There is a little more money coming in over the next few days, maybe around $5,000 total?” he said. “Over the last couple of days, $14,000 or $15,000 came in.”
The stress piled up
From there, the sushi restaurant owner described the hectic day at work. In addition to being understaffed, he had a mound of work to complete.
“I was fielding so many phone calls. I am still behind on so many emails and requests for private dinner bookings,” he shared. “I had to make sure that the emergency delivery takeout bags arrive next week. So, $1,600 just in air freight shipment from China.” The cherry on top was a software glitch that mislabeled the prices by 50%. As a result, Bertsch planned to open a physical location.
“I’m going to be signing a letter of intent to begin negotiating with a physical location in a nearby part of town so that we can have our own brick and mortar store,” he said.
The Mary Sue reached out to Bertsch via TikTok comment and direct message.
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