BARCELONA, Spain—Glovo, a food delivery service, has partnered with Stoneweg real-estate firm to enlarge its number of ghost convenience stores, The Spoon reports. Stoneweg will invest $121 million to help Glovo with the expansion.

As part of the deal, Stoneweg will build or revamp locations in key delivery markets to assist Glovo in increasing its reach through delivery-only c-stores. Glovo is currently in Italy, Portugal, Romania and Spain, but has plans to open ghost locations in other European countries soon. By the end of 2021, Glove will have 100 different locations, up from the current 18.

Two years ago, Glovo debuted its c-store delivery model, promising to deliver traditional c-store goods in a half hour or less. The dark convenience stores allow for quick fulfilment of online orders. During the pandemic, that focus, which the company calls “Q-Commerce,” has served it well, especially in countries with strict lockdowns.

Other companies have similar ghost convenience stores, such as DoorDash’s DashMart and virtual on-demand convenience store GoPuff, plus LG robots delivering convenience store products in South Korea. Restaurants and retailers continue to utilize ghost kitchens, including Kroger and US Foods.

For more on this trend, read “Ghost Kitchens” in the September 2020 issue of NACS Magazine.