CloudKitchens, Uber founder's commissary startup, is coming to Tampa
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: May 3, 2022

CloudKitchens, the secretive startup that builds commissary kitchens for delivery-only food, is coming to Tampa.

The company, led by Uber founder Travis Kalanick, needs city approval for its design of 1701 W. Arch St., a warehouse it purchased for $1.35 million at the end of 2021.

CloudKitchens' business model aims to maximize the efficiency of third-party delivery apps like UberEats and DoorDash. At the Tampa location, drivers will go to a single pickup location and pick up orders that are headed for the same general area at the same time in batches. That will "significantly reduce the number of pickups and overall driver traffic," according to plans filed with the city.

Food delivery services exploded in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic. Even as consumers make their way back to dining rooms, there's high demand for delivery, putting pressure on restaurants already dealing with labor shortages, wage inflation and rising food prices.

"The commissary kitchen facility will be used for meal preparation to be delivered for off-site consumption only," according to documents filed with the city. "No food will be consumed onsite. The site will not be open to the general public."

CloudKitchens needs city staffers to sign off on the building design as well as reduce the number of required parking spaces from 40 to 30.

The company, valued at over $15 billion, has faced its share of issues. On Tuesday, Insider reported the startup is facing lawsuits that allege labor violations and deceptive business practices. Kalanick has been accused of bringing to CloudKitchens the same controversial culture that led to his departure from Uber.

A CloudKitchens representative was not immediately available for comment Tuesday.