Courtesy Virtual Dining Concepts
Last week, the Riverfront Times announced the arrival of a celebrity-owned ghost kitchen concept in St. Louis: Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Kitchen. While that may not have come as a surprise (earlier this month, EATER announced the launch in 23 states), the specific metro locations were not named (referred to only as “Frontenac and Des Peres”), which is arguably a moot point since the concept is 100 percent delivery-based.
Upon closer inspection, however, one discovers that the company's St. Louis addresses, 1601 S. Lindbergh and 12 West County Center, are the same as Brio Italian Kitchen (still in operation) and BRAVO! Cucina (a location that closed nearly a year ago). Across the country, Flavortown Kitchens are broadening the reach for familiar Fieri staples such as Jalapeño Pig Poppers, Bourbon Brown Sugar BBQ Wings, Chicken Parm-eroni, the OG Caesar Salad, and Fried Pickles.
Fieri launched Flavortown Kitchen in conjunction with Planet Hollywood’s Robert Earl, who also founded Virtual Dining Concepts, a group of delivery-only restaurants that operate out of existing restaurant (or industrial) kitchens. (Earl Enterprises, the parent company of Planet Hollywood, bought Brio and BRAVO! last year.)
Virtual Dining Concepts currently oversees 14 different brands, including another ghost restaurant, MrBeast Burger, which ironically (and quietly) also operates out of the Brio and BRAVO! kitchens. Two other VDC ghost concepts—Mariah's Cookies and Wing Squad—are up and running in St. Louis as well. By aligning themselves with a proven virtual concept, restaurant operators with underutilized kitchen space are realizing a new revenue stream.
Courtesy MrBeast Burger
Owner Jimmy Donaldson
The story of MrBeast is a fascinating one. Jimmy Donaldson (a.k.a. MrBeast), is best known for his over-the-top YouTube videos. In one, he simply counted to 100,000, which took 40 hours. In another, he gave $100,000 worth of items to homeless shelters. He’s given away cars, eaten a $70,000 golden pizza, opened a restaurant that paid people $10,000 to eat there (the line of cars allegedly stretched for 20 miles), and visited the same restaurant drive-through 1,000 times.
Late last year, he announced the launch of MrBeast Burger, a franchised smashburger concept that also operates out of existing restaurant kitchens. Donaldson launched the project in December 2020, and it immediately (and appropriately) went viral. There are currently more than 300 MrBeast Burger units operating out of 40 states.
Courtesy MrBeast Burger
The signature items are burgers named after three team members—the Beast style, Chandler style, and Chris style—as well as a grilled cheese, chicken tender (regular or Nashville hot), loaded fries, and crinkle cut fries (seasoned with spicy red pepper, garlic, paprika, sugar, and a bit of lime).
MrBeast Burger locations are located in Des Peres, Frontenac, and Richmond Heights (operating out of the Mike Duffy’s kitchen at 6662 Clayton). Orders can be placed via the MrBeast app, online, or via most third-party delivery platforms.
Our recommendation: Consider placing an order, and watch a few McBeast videos while you consume it.
