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Ghost Restaurants     


((PKG)) GHOST RESTAURANTS
((TRT: 03:28))
((Topic Banner: Ghost Restaurants))
((Reporter: Karina Bafradzhian))
((Camera: Andrey Degtyarev, Artyom Kokhan))
((Adapted by: Zdenko Novacki))
((Map: Washington, D.C.))
((Main characters: 2 female; 1 male))
((Sub characters: 1 female; 1 male))
((NATS))
((Taryn Pellicone, Co-owner, Prescription Chicken))
Valerie and I are cousins, and we had this idea of getting
really delicious, hot chicken soup to people as quickly as
possible. And starting a small business, finding spaces, you
know, getting all the things that you need to start up, is never
easy.
((NATS))
((Valerie Zweig, Co-owner, Prescription Chicken))
We had shared a space with a local bar and due to the
pandemic, they had to make their space smaller. So, we
were going to lose our operating home. We found this
location. It was a third-generation restaurant that had been,
you know, in existence. And we said, “You know, this is a
perfect space for us.” So, we said, “Look, we love this
space.” It's too big for us. So, we said, “Well, hey, what if we
invited some of our friends to join us?”
((NATS))
((Taryn Pellicone, Co-owner, Prescription Chicken))
The cost, it's really expensive to operate. And especially, we
are in the heart of the city. You know, spaces are hard to
come by, spaces that work for your business. And so, being
able to offset some of those costs is really helpful. You
know, coming from a team standpoint as well, it's amazing to
have other collaborators in here with us.
((NATS))
((Valerie Zweig, Co-owner, Prescription Chicken))
There's three of us. And we tried really hard to make it
complementary offerings. So, we have chicken soup and all
different types of chicken soup. We have Astro Doughnuts
and Fried Chicken, which is a doughnut and fried chicken
concept, and cookies. And then we have Saya Saltena,
which is a Bolivian empanada.
((NATS))
((Maria Iturralde, Owner, Saya Saltena))
I met Val and Taryn back at Mess Hall, five years ago. And I
used to have my catering company, everything great. But
then COVID happened. So, I had to change. I had to change
my business model. And I'm from Bolivia, so I decided to
start offering Bolivian food for takeout.
((NATS))
((Maria Iturralde, Owner, Saya Saltena))
I'm very thankful for this place. It helped me tremendously
because I wouldn't be able to open up my delivery platform
to other places if I wasn't able to share the space here.
((NATS))
((BANNER: Stingray Kitchen is another virtual delivery-only
restaurant just a few blocks away.))
((NATS: Theodore Sampel
Thank you for calling Stingray Kitchen. This is Theodore.
How may I assist you?))
((NATS))
((Theodore Sampel, Manager, Stingray Kitchen))
During these tough times, we're trying to create ideas to
keep our business surviving through the epidemic, of course,
or the pandemic. We have the space, so we decided to
utilize the space. And then, other than that, I guess a ghost
kitchen is basically high-quality, food-to-go orders, is what
really is the definition I believe. So, we created a menu and
we tasted it. And here we are today with a beautiful, little
restaurant, you know.
((NATS))
((Takeshi Nishikawa, Chef, Stingray Kitchen))
I think there is a part of me that misses the human
interaction. I think, I do like to see the faces of the customers
who I’m serving. But I just have to kind of pretend like, you
know, like what do they look like when they see the dishes?
What would they react when they open the containers? And I
think, I kind of have to use my imaginative side of my brain.
So, I mean, yes, I think, I do miss the part of the human
interaction for sure.
((NATS))
((Theodore Sampel, Manager, Stingray Kitchen))
I hope it doesn't just go to this. We do need to have human
communication. We need to sit, relax, escape. But I think,
the world has changed and we have to, you know, this is a
part of the business that is going to be with us for a while.
((NATS/MUSIC))


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