Enter ghost kitchens. Quiznos’ parent company, Rego Restaurant Group, this week announced a deal with Ghost Kitchen Brands to put the chain, along with sister concept Taco Del Mar, into 100 of its ghost kitchens in the U.S. and Canada by the end of this year.

Construction has begun on two prototypes. One is a line-service model in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, set to debut in September. The other is a drive-thru scheduled to open in Salt Lake City in July. Five brick-and-mortar stores and 15 ghost kitchens are also in the pipeline.

Smokey Bones' Chicago ghost kitchen is moving to the new Kitchen United MIX location, a multi-ordering concept located at 205 W. Wacker Drive. Beginning on Wednesday, May 19, guests can still order for pick up or delivery from smokeybones.com, kitchenunited.com and using third-party delivery apps. Guests can now also order through the MIX onsite ordering kiosk and dine-in at the virtual food hall.

JustKitchen, a ghost kitchen provider headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, is plotting an international expansion with ambitions to open locations in the U.S. this year, specifically targeting the West Coast, according to a press release.

Even before the pandemic, Walchef preached the importance of digital marketing and innovation in the food world — both at his own restaurant and on a podcast called Digital Hospitality, where he invites industry leaders to share what they know.

NASCAR and Virtual Dining Concepts are gearing up to bring racetrack concession-inspired fare to consumers’ doorsteps via a new virtual restaurant.

Ordermark Founder Alex Canter joins the RB podcast “A Deeper Dive” to talk about the best strategies for creating virtual brands.

We might forget this someday, but ghost kitchens and virtual restaurant concepts were not a product of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There’s no need to break out the nunchucks to get a good meal. Cluck Norris Ass-Kickin’ Chicken, home of “black-belt quality” food, is now open in Sarasota.

Bitcoin Pizza Day is coming up, which makes it an apt time to launch a bitcoin-themed virtual pizza restaurant. Anthony Pompliano, an entrepreneur and investor, announced today he is launching Bitcoin Pizza, a pop-up restaurant brand that will partner with independent pizza shops to deliver pies from May 22–29.

Noah Glass used to tout a seemingly ambitious milestone when outlining his company’s long-term vision. The day Olo achieved 51 percent of sales for a customer would represent the moment it became the majority order channel for that restaurant. And others would soon follow.

Wingstop the award-winning wing concept with more than 1,500 locations worldwide, today announced a minority investment in the UK business, which is operated by its UK franchisee, Lemon Pepper Holdings Ltd. (LPH). This investment follows strong performance in the UK and underscores the brand's confidence in the market as a key growth lever for global expansion.

With a number of trends creating potential challenges for the long-term health of the c-store industry, operators should plan now for the future — and that means leaning into ghost kitchens to defend and expand market share.

The pandemic hasn’t dampened grocers' enthusiasm for dining experiences, and many are looking to new formats and digital services to spice things up.

To accommodate increased consumer interest in off-premises dining without creating additional overhead, many operators turned to a virtual restaurant model. Some began experimenting with “ghost” kitchens.

Ghost kitchens, also known as virtual restaurants; cloud, commissary, or shared kitchens; and delivery-only, shadow, and dark kitchens, are the restaurant industry’s newest attempt to feed into the ever-growing on-demand consumer culture.

What is a ghost kitchen and how do you start one? Here's an all-in-one guide to launching your ghost kitchen.