REEF Technology

REEF Technology (formerly known as ParkJockey Global) is an operator of parking real estate and delivery kitchens in North America. The company transforms urban spaces into community hubs by setting up cloud kitchens, healthcare clinics, retail outlets, and other services in empty parking spaces. 

REEF kitchens is the company’s turnkey expansion solution for restaurateurs. These are purpose-built commercial kitchens that prepare food ordered online for delivery and pick-up. Each kitchen prepares food for three to five restaurant brands, and REEF manages all operational requirements on behalf of restaurant owners including staffing and day-to-day kitchen management. REEF kitchens are connected to the neighborhood’s most popular food delivery platforms and getREEF (the company’s own delivery platform) via a proprietary delivery management technology. This enables each kitchen to organize and prepare orders for multiple brands. The kitchens operate under a license model as opposed to a flat fee. 

The company’s brand portfolio includes food brands like Wow Bao, Wayback Burgers, Firenza, Saladworks, and Capriottis and is supplied by Collectiv Food and Crate to Plate. For delivery, the company has partnered with Grubhub, Deliveroo, Postmates, and UberEats.

There were over 300 REEF kitchens across key markets in North America and Europe, including cities like Austin, Miami, Chicago, Houston, Portland, Toronto, Edmonton, and London. However, in January 2022, the company temporarily shut down a third of its locations (around 95 sites) due to underperformance and a number of operational challenges including labor shortages, high costs, incomplete permits, and difficulties connecting to utilities. In March 2023, Reef announced plans to discontinue operations of its unprofitable ghost kitchen facilities in a strategic move that focuses on profitability. The company instead planned to increase its focus on licensing its technology to venues such as airports and stadiums. 

Key customers and partnerships

In December 2021, REEF acquired 2ndKitchen, a US-based virtual kitchen for hotels, offices, buildings, and other hospitality companies. 2ndKitchen’s existing business will be combined with REEF's brand and will operate under its hospitality division. In November 2021, the company announced the acquisition of iKcon Restaurant LLC, a Dubai-based cloud kitchen operator, marking its first major transaction in the MENA market. 

REEF also strengthens its reach and customer base through partnerships with other players in the broader cloud kitchen ecosystem including Creating Culinary Communities (C3) and JustKitchen. REEF currently carries C3 brands in its cloud kitchens, and has a partnership with JustKitchen to launch its “Another Wing” brand in South-East Asia. In July 2022 Reef partnered with HUBB Kitchens, a North Carolina-based cloud kitchen facility provider to open a virtual food hall in the Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina. 

In March 2022, the company announced a partnership with the fast-casual Mexican restaurant QDOBA to launch 25 pilot locations in Seattle, Austin, and Atlanta. In August 2021, the company partnered with the American fast food chain Wendy’s to open 700 delivery Kitchens across the US, Canada, and the UK by 2025. In May 2023, the two companies announced plans to close down all Wendy’s cloud kitchen locations in the US. In March 2022, the company launched its first fine-dining collaboration with The One Group for its upscale concepts STK, Kona Grill and Bao Yum.