Member-only story
A Restaurant Without a Shingle
Virtual restaurants started before the pandemic, but the explosion in delivery and curbside pickup has sped things up
I had Cajun-seasoned chicken wings and curly fries today from It’s Just Wings, a restaurant that doesn’t actually exist. The wings were just fine.
Some of you are already familiar with the concept of the “virtual restaurant,” but others may be less familiar. Basically, a virtual restaurant is a delivery-only or delivery-and-carryout-only brand that depends on another restaurant’s kitchen to prepare its food.
In some cases, the virtual restaurant and the brick-and-mortar restaurant which hosts it are owned by the same people. Brinker International is a restaurant company that owns both Chili’s and Maggiano’s Little Italy. It created It’s Just Wings as a way of getting a little more value out of the kitchens it was already running. It’s Just Wings has a very different menu from Chili’s; as the name implies, it offers only one entree, chicken wings (as well as “boneless wings,” which I insist on pointing out aren’t wings at all); one side item, curly fries; and one dessert, deep-fried Oreo cookies. You can also get soft drinks. Chili’s does have chicken wings on its regular menu, but with fewer flavor options. It’s Just Wings has a wide variety of…
