Ghost Kitchen Incubator Markt Brands to Launch this Fall
Markt Brands has leased a 10,000-square-foot space in south Edmonton to house up to 25 ghost kitchens, offering food entrepreneurs a chance to get into the restaurant business at a lower cost and with less hassle.
The space at 99 Street and 34 Avenue, which will be carved into bays of 200 square feet each, is set to launch in October. Markt CEO Kyle Ferbey said his experience in the food industry over the past two years led to the idea.
“We’ve seen two big trends in the pandemic,” said Ferbey, who separately operates 16 Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen franchises in Edmonton. “The first is a shift to a delivery-based model. Our delivery numbers at Popeyes increased from 3% to 20%. Second, there are rising costs that make it more difficult to start and operate a restaurant.”
Markt’s model is similar to CloudKitchens, an American-based startup that operates in more than two dozen states and recently launched in Toronto. Markt vendors will pay $5,000 a month for basics like rent, utilities, and pest control, as well as marketing support, third-party delivery app coordination, and securing other backbone services such as accounting at competitive rates. Ferbey compares this overhead cost to an estimated $500,000 to launch a conventional brick-and-mortar restaurant.
“The goal is to eliminate a lot of the major challenges to open a restaurant and set them up as a success,” said Ferbey. “I think there’s a lot of that out there, people who are too afraid to start a restaurant because it’s too financially risky. If someone comes to us and has really great food, we can help them create something great by eliminating the hassles and headaches.”
So far, Markt has nine confirmed vendors, whose concepts include Chinese, Filipino, Thai, burgers, and vegan food.
“We have a mix of people who have never owned a restaurant in their lives to people who have owned restaurants and want to try a new concept, and one gentleman who wants to expand a concept,” said Ferbey. “One woman is currently working at 7-Eleven and has always dreamed about opening a restaurant. We are taken aback that she trusts us.”
Nghia Truong and his wife Nin are among the vendors who have already signed on to Markt. Along with his parents, Nghia ran Sweet Mango and then its successor, Mini Mango, for 13 years. Due to health-related challenges, the family decided to sell the business in 2020, but they are now looking to get back into the hospitality industry in a different way.
“Being a restaurant owner is one of the most challenging ordeals,” said Truong. “When you’re putting your heart and soul into making the best product, and if you have a young family, it makes it even harder. When we first opened Mini Mango, my son wasn’t even one yet. It took a lot of years of sacrifice and time away from my kids to make it work.”
Truong has known Ferbey for more than a decade as a regular customer at Mini Mango, and he’s keen on letting Markt do the heavy lifting so he and Nin can concentrate on the food. They’re considering up to three concepts for their ghost kitchen: a scaled-down version of Mini Mango, offering vermicelli bowls and banh mi sandwiches, a drink concept featuring Vietnamese coffee with boba, and packaged Vietnamese cakes.
“Anyone with a food concept can just focus on making food,” said Truong. “They cover all of the maintenance and nuances of running a restaurant, and the startup will be one-tenth of the traditional restaurant. It’s much more feasible and realistic.”
Truong was also swayed by Markt’s vision for expansion. If successful, Ferbey’s intention is to build additional locations in Edmonton and, eventually, throughout the country.
“By expanding our footprint, it gives vendors an option to rapidly expand their brands across Canada,” said Ferbey. “If we have 25 locations in Canada, people could licence their brand across Canada within a matter of months.”
But it will all come down to good food. “We look at it as a restaurant incubator with people who want to share incredible food with the world,” said Ferbey. “Food brings us together.”
COVID-19-related News
- Pho Tau Bay is closing for a week due to a staff member contracting COVID-19.
Openings
- El Corazon, a Mexican restaurant located in the West Block Glenora (14101 West Block Drive, #150), opened last week.
- Burger Daddy is now open at 4351 167 Avenue.
Upcoming Events
- The Lions Club is hosting a wine and cheese tasting fundraiser on April 30, 2022 at the St. John’s Cultural Centre. Tickets are $65.
- Urban Pedal Tours start up in April, with public and private tours now available to be booked.
- Chef Table Living announced their new season of Food Bike Tours, running May 7-September 24, 2022. Tickets start at $139 per person, and each include stops at four businesses.
Local News
- CBC highlighted the newest café in Oliver, located in a heritage home, Stopgap Coffee.
- Sharon visited three new-ish pizza spots: Birch & Bear, Community Taps + Pizza and High Dough’s second location.
- Edify also stopped by Community Taps + Pizza.
- Phil’s latest Best Dish column is all about Little Village.
- Riverbank Bistro’s duck confit was featured by Edify.
- The Journal caught up with the owners of Broken Spoke Cider, Normand’s, and Haweli.
- Global showcased sports bar Home and Away, which took over the Mercer Tavern space downtown.
- Good Earth will be taking over some of the vacant Starbucks locations located inside Indigo and Chapters shops, including the west end Chapters.
What I Ate
- We had a lovely time last week at our favourite staycation getaway, Prairie Creek Inn. I always look forward to their breakfasts and it’s such a treat to be able to eat outdoors in the spring.
Hot breakfast from Prairie Creek Inn
- We also stopped by Rocky Mountain House and grabbed some take-out from Cucina, a restaurant offering Korean and Italian dishes on the same menu. I really enjoyed their bulgogi poutine.
Bulgogi poutine from Cucina
Only Here for the Food 