GREEN BAY (NBC26) — A new restaurant trend is helping a Green Bay eatery increase revenue.
People can order all sorts of food on delivery apps like DoorDash or Grubhub, but not all the restaurants have their own physical space.
When MrBeast Burger is typed into the search bar of Grubhub, people will find it has the same address, 803 Klaus St, as Mariah's Cookies. The physical building is currently occupied by JJ Cafe & Grill.
"We just handle cooking the food and sending it out," said Jamie Waller, JJ Cafe & Grill owner.
Waller said the partnership with the two digital restaurants officially took off in January through a firm called Virtual Dining Concepts.
"Funny enough we were actually discussing it in the kitchen one day. You know, I was telling my other partner about it - what ghost kitchens are exactly - and Facebook was apparently listening and decided to pop me up with an add (for it) one day," Waller said.
MrBeast Burger and Mariah's Cookies are digital-only brands. The food is made in kitchens like JJ Cafe & Grill and delivered through apps like UberEats and DoorDash.
Waller said "ghost kitchens" became more popular for restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to "get through" the initial lock downs and restrictions.
Since JJ Cafe & Grill became a "ghost kitchen," Waller said revenue increased about 70 percent. He said they hope to expand the restaurant in the near future to Appleton and Milwaukee.
"When we first started it was kind of slow, but it has picked up more, and more, and more," Waller said. "Especially when flu season comes around again, we just see more and more people. Grubhub and DoorDash, they're not going anywhere."
JJ Cafe & Grill continues to serve its own food in addition to the virtual brands. Waller said they are currently working to add two more digital-only options called Tyga Bites and NASCAR Refuel.
Euromonitor, a market research firm, estimated ghost kitchens could be a $1 trillion business by 2030.
