Guy Fieri, the celebrity chef at the Food Network, with spiky hair, is rapidly launching a new restaurant chain that delivers only, which adopts the concept of “ghost cuisine” instead of a static brick and mortar establishment.
Fieri’s Flavortown kitchens are operated from existing brick and mortar kitchens. The new chain has several points of sale in 24 states, with most locations launching in late January or early February.
Flavortown is partnered with Robert Earl, the founder of Planet Hollywood, in a company called Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC), a company that sells virtual kitchens to help existing restaurants get extra revenue from celebrity brand concepts.
The Flavortown locations have 18 outlets in California, all connected to existing Buca di Beppo, Bertucci’s, Brio and other concepts associated with Earl’s business.
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California Flavortowns are in Brea, Campbell, Claremont, Carlsbad, Encino, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Pasadena, Rancho Cucamonga, Redondo Beach, Roseville, Universal City, Santa Clarita, Thousand Oaks and two in San Diego.
The menu brings Donkey Sauce to go and has only 19 items available. Fieri’s Flavortown offers dishes like Bourbon Brown Sugar Barbecue Wings for $ 13.99, Jalapeno Pig Poppers for $ 12.99, “Chicken Guy!” Classic for $ 11.99 and Bacon Mac ‘n’ Cheese Burger for $ 12.99.
Fieri is best known for its Food Network programs Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Guy’s Grocery games. He built an empire that includes his name on 14 other brands around the world.
Food can be ordered through the Flavortown Kitchen website or through most delivery services, including DoorDash, UberEats, Postmates and Grubhub.
Spurred by the pandemic of indoor restaurant closings and limited outdoor options, phantom kitchens – sometimes referred to as virtual brands or exclusive delivery concepts are growing.
Market research firm Euromonitor estimates that they could be a $ 1 trillion deal in 2030.
The phantom kitchen concept has spawned several companies, including CloudKitchens, started by ex-Uber founder and CEO Travis Kalanick.