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8 new virtual or ghost restaurant brands

From celebrity partnerships to existing chains expanding their reach, check out the latest in the virtual brand space

Holly Petre, Assistant Digital Editor

November 10, 2021

6 Slides
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Restaurant-celebrity partnerships aren’t new, but it seems those in the public eye are getting more into putting their names on delivery-only restaurants concepts than ever before.

This quarter, both Cheech Marin (of Cheech & Chong fame) and Buddy V unveiled virtual brands centered around what they’re known for, cannabis and cake respectively.

Some traditional brands are also getting into the ghost kitchen game, like Artic Circle and Legal Sea Foods. The two brands are using ghost kitchens to expand reach to new cities, either through Kitchen United or other partner kitchens.

Also, virtual brand company Nextbite has unveiled three new breakfast-focused virtual brands. All three center around the most portable food: a sandwich.

Nextbite also announced Wednesday it would partner with celebrity chef Tom Colicchio offer items from ‘Wichcraft’s menu as a virtual brand for delivery only, starting in 2022. Colicchio co-founded the high-end sandwich concept in New York in 2003.

Click through the gallery to learn more about each of these virtual brands or ghost kitchen operations.

About the Author

Holly Petre

Assistant Digital Editor

Holly Petre is a digital editor for Nation’s Restaurant News as well as the host of NRN’s podcast, Extra Serving, and producer for Informa Restaurant and Food Group’s other three podcasts, One On One by Food Management, Off the Shelf with SN and In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn. Holly holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Sculpture, fibers and Material Studies and Ceramics from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A native New Yorker, Holly enjoys her place on staff as the resident pop-culture expert and millennial with a sassy attitude and great sense of style.

Holly Petre’s work on Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality often covers marketing and trends, either aimed-at or examined-through the millennial mindset. Holly is responsible for introducing TikTok and Twitch to NRN and RH readers as well as explaining terms like “Karen” to staff and readers alike. She also spends her time on staff trying not to make every headline a pun.

Holly Petre hasn’t spoken at any events or on panels, but she is readily available with a killer shoe wardrobe and several witty quips.

 

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