‘Ghost kitchens’ spread and worry Paris bistros

Instead of the colorful and busy market, a delivery point without the slightest charm. Instead of the nice restaurant on the corner, a place where food is delivered, but there are no tables to sit.

The so-called “dark stores” and “dark kitchens”, also known as ghost kitchens in Brazil, do not directly serve customers and serve only as a distribution point for products, food or meals, spread across European cities such as Paris and cause concern about impact on local and traditional commerce.

The pandemic gave the definitive impetus to this type of service, practically non-existent until 2020 in France.

In February, the Atelier Parisiense d’Urbanismo (Apur) released a report in which it pointed out that 70 “dark stores” or “dark kitchens” were installed in the French capital, amid 7,000 traditional food shops.

“It’s increasing very quickly, since a year ago there were no dark stores. They have positioned themselves at the same opening hours as the supermarkets and neighborhood markets, which are quite traditional in Paris – more than 1,000, in addition to 700 markets, which offer the same products as the ‘dark stores'”, says study director François Mohrt.

In the midst of so many restrictions linked to the pandemic, the promise of having your favorite pizza or shopping, made by an app, at home in less than 15 minutes, quickly seduced the French.

Critics Point to Americanization and Unpleasant Architecture

For Nathalie Damery, co-founder of the Observatory Society and Consumption study center (Obsoco), this phenomenon demonstrates the “Americanization” of food consumption in Europe, thanks to the facilities of technology.

“Demand has exploded strongly. Amazon had already gotten us used to receiving deliveries overnight”, notes the specialist in consumer behavior. “We have entered what we can call a ‘economy of haste’ and the French have become hasty. They want less and less to have to wait in supermarkets, travel, carry weight.”

However, the side effects of these facilities begin to appear. “From an urban point of view, it is not very pleasant to have this type of warehouse, with blind facades, without contact with the outside, after all, you cannot even enter these stores. This affects the animation of a street and we like them to be animated. “, notes Mohrt.

“Tourists, by the way, look for this when they come to Paris. Many come for that: to attend fairs, to shop”, he emphasizes.

The Apur survey showed that half of these establishments are located in busy areas of Paris – the risk to local businesses therefore exists. They occupy places where, in the past, there was a bank branch, a doctor’s office, a cafe or a store that closed its doors.

“We have entered the digitalization of services, and it is clear that if local businesses do not react, there are risks of competition. But Covid has shown that it is necessary to take a step forward. We already have many merchants, even small ones, offering delivery, which it didn’t exist before”, says Damery.

“I think there will also be advantages for them from a social point of view: when you buy from a traditional store, an employee will deliver the groceries to you. When you come from a dark store, you run the risk of supporting the illegal employment of people in dubious conditions, who receive very low wages and are exploited.”

Delivery bikes annoy residents

The very operation of fast delivery services increasingly bothers residents: they start early, end late, generating an incessant circulation of motorcycle or bicycle delivery men. The noise of coming and going gets in the way, and it is not uncommon for them to disturb the door of neighboring housing buildings, while waiting for the order to be ready.

Worse still, these dark services have managed to install themselves on the ground floor of properties where, in theory, they are not even authorized to operate. Paris City Hall records complaints from residents daily.

“On some streets, a store cannot become a warehouse and a warehouse cannot be installed on the ground floor of a residential building either. This is provided for in the Urban Planning Code. the ones already installed to close, after all they don’t have the right to be in certain places”, notes Mohrt.

Exclusive delivery services are not just a concern in the French capital — Madrid and Amsterdam are also mobilizing to limit the expansion of the sector. Nathalie Damery points out that the trend is towards increased regulation, as has happened with platforms like Airbnb and Uber in European countries.