Shopping-Mall Giants Back Expanded Delivery-Only ‘Ghost Kitchens’ in Food Courts

As the U.S. hospitality industry rebounds from pandemic closures, former hotelier Sam Nazarian is moving into the food-hall business, marrying the traditional dine-in model with delivery-only “ghost kitchens” in hopes of solving revenue problems that have long plagued retail and food spaces.

Mr. Nazarian said his new venture, Creating Culinary Communities, which counts investors such as shopping-mall giants Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and Simon Property Group, has plans for 1,000 ghost kitchens by the end of the year. The company on Tuesday plans to announce $80 million in Series B funding co-led by Brookfield and REEF Technology, a SoftBank Group Corp. -backed operator of food-delivery kitchens and hubs for goods and services.