There was a day not too long ago when casual dining execs found pushy third-party deliverers a nuisance to reckon with. How were these busy restaurants to integrate these unsolicited delivery orders/pickups into their operations? They took a few Advil and figured it out, because no matter how unplanned this delivery activity was, it represented undeniable income.
Now look who the power brokers are. Casual dining would be gone now if it weren’t for the DoorDashes and Uber Eats of the world with their dynamic customer-facing ordering technology with well-developed operator backend technology to help. The infrastructure was well developed before the pandemic and the resulting restaurant crisis. And now these chains thank their lucky stars for the persistent aforementioned delivery companies. 57% of restaurants say their business would have closed during the current crisis if not for DoorDash, according to DoorDash’s survey conducted and released as part of its recent economic impact report.
Truly, these delivery platforms serendipitously paved a path to recovery for sit-down restaurants. Here’s the working equation: Meal orders minus dine-in services plus virtual “operations”/menus plus chicken equals casual dining’s salvation.
Follow with me. When sit-down dining shut down, consumers still wanted to order food. Standing in the gap were their third-party delivery apps allowing them to search for food from a particular restaurant, or search by food type.
Whether casual dining chains figured this out on their own, or if DoorDash and/or Uber Eats alerted them, restaurants discovered they could increase eyes on their menus if they launched more menus under more names virtually from within their existing kitchens. After all, the order technology and kitchen interface was already there. The beauty, it turns out, is that delivery prone customers don't care what restaurant brand prepares their food.
And so. If a restaurant can start one virtual restaurant, it can start three. A few days ago, Red Robin announced the launch of three virtual brands from its kitchens: Chicken Sammy’s, The Wing Dept and Fresh Set. Of note, DoorDash reports that chicken sandwiches are the top meal ordered from its platform. Smart operators find out things like this and make a virtual brand and menu out of it. Chicken Sammy’s offers a selection of chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, sides and more. The Wing Dept sells chicken wings and sides.
Again, whether operators already knew the wild popularity of chicken or if the delivery companies told them that they could hardly go wrong with the bird… nearly every virtual concept adopted by casual dining features chicken.
- It’s Just Wings (Brinker International from its Chili’s and Maggiano’s locations)
- Tender Shack (chicken tenders from Bloomin’ Brands’ Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Outback Steakhouse kitchens)
- The Wing Experience (Smokey Bones barbecue chain)
- Cosmic Wings (Applebee’s)
- Sarah’s Hot Chicken (21-unit Fish City Grill)
Sales numbers are impressive. Chili’s estimates it will generate $150 million in sales during the first year of It’s Just Wings virtual operations.
Now we will watch virtual brands spring up from grocery stores, c-stores and any noncommercial business that operates a kitchen, like hospitals, business and industry cafeterias and universities.
I think these delivery companies just redefined “restaurant,” while leveling the playing field. Meet the restaurant sales leaders of the future. They are invisible.
Tell me what you think.
Jody Shee
