Why Uber Eats Is Teaming Up With Rachel Ray for a Whole New Kind of Ghost Restaurant

As ghost restaurants become more and more apparent across the country, brands are finding new ways to take advantage of the trend. Recently, delivery platforms such as Uber Eats and GrubHub have been partnering with celebrity chefs and lifestyle brands to launch limited-time restaurants with serious star power. 

In August, Lettuce Entertain You and Grubhub announced a partnership with Bon Appetit to create a virtual restaurant called Delivered, which features the most popular dishes from the brand’s magazine, website and Instagram feed. The pair also teamed up to open Whole30’s first branded restaurant in Chicago.

More recently, Uber Eats teamed up with Rachael Ray to open a limited-time, 10-city virtual kitchen featuring recipes from the celebrity chef’s new cookbook. Earlier this month, Uber Eats also launched a “Breaking Bad”-themed virtual restaurant, Los Pollos Hermanos.

These ghost kitchens have proven to be a win-win situation, with the delivery companies benefiting from strong brand partnerships and the brands benefiting from the delivery infrastructure to get their food to the masses. For Grubhub and Uber, the star power offers an attractive promotional opportunity as delivery companies continue to fight for dominance in the market.  

With some franchisors wary of third-party delivery, these partnerships may prove to be an even bigger threat, as virtual restaurants offer significantly lower real estate, menu innovation costs and an easier and less-risky opportunity to experiment with new branded concepts.

While celebrity endorsements in the restaurant space are nothing new, now it looks like your favorite movie star or celebrity chef could be spearheading the next virtual kitchen in your town.