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Virtual dining is getting super popular among consumers and restauranteers, thanks to the convenience, less overhead costs, and the growing demand for delivery.
You don’t need a physical space. So, you save on rent and utilities while helping you reach more customers. This blog breaks down what virtual dining is, why it’s trending, and how to open a virtual restaurant and reach new customers.
In a Virtual Dining Concept, your customers can only order food online. This restaurant has no physical place to visit or pick up their food—everything happens through a digital platform. They’ll place their order via an app or website, and then their meal is delivered straight to their door.
Ypou might think, virtual dining sounds like a ghost kitchen concept. But here’s the scoop on how it’s different. The big difference is that ghost kitchens are strictly delivery-only. They don’t have a storefront or a dine-in area at all. They cook up food for delivery, and that’s it.
On the other hand, virtual restaurants operate from a space that might be part of a larger restaurant that serves customers on-site, though often they’re focused on delivery. It might also be a themed-food a chef is trying out for a few months (a virtual pop-up restaurant, if you will)
Livy's Plant Based Foods is a good example of virtual dining. Philadelphia chef Jose Garces started this plant-based, mostly vegan concept.
There are two main types of virtual restaurants: virtual brands and virtual kitchens. Both rely on an advanced set of tech and tools to run, but their setups and how they operate are a bit different.
Virtual brands run entirely online, with no physical spot for customers to visit. Existing restaurants or chefs often launch them to try out new menu ideas or reach different types of customers without changing their main brand.
Virtual kitchens are shared kitchen spaces where multiple brands use the same space to cook for online orders and deliveries only. They’re super cost-effective since you can run several brands from one spot, cutting down overhead and boosting efficiency big time!
Now that you're aware what is a virtual restaurant, here’s a rundown of the benefits that it can bring:
You can ditch the costly real estate and fancy decor. With no need for a dine-in area, you save on a lot of aspects, such as:
So, a virtual kitchen can run at a shared commercial kitchen space for a fraction of the cost of running a traditional setup.
You’ll definitely want your own exclusive menu on all the top food delivery apps. Opening a virtual restaurant lets you reach way more people than just walk-in customers. Take Virtual Dining Concepts in the US, for example—they’ve got many virtual restaurant brands like The Meltdown, Banda Burrito, and The Burger Den, all running out of a single Denny’s kitchen.
Without a physical dining space, you can try out new dishes or even totally fresh concepts with way less risk. For example, a pizzeria could test out vegetarian options or global flavors without completely changing their whole menu.
In a virtual kitchen, you’re not preparing for a full dining room. So, you can tweak your inventory based on up-to-the-minute data to make just enough of each dish. The result: neither you overstock nor do you throw away excess, which helps cut down on waste. It’s like running a lean cooking business with no room for waste!
Suppose there is a busy office crowd that’s too busy to dine in but is craving a quick lunch delivery. Going virtual means you can reach these people. This expands your customer base beyond just those who would have visited your physical spot.
Setting up a virtual restaurant is like setting up an online store; you don’t need physical renovations. You can get your virtual brand up and running quickly, often within weeks. On the other hand, it might take months to open a traditional restaurant.
Scaling up virtual dining effortlessly. If your concept really catches on, you can easily team up with more delivery services or even use multiple virtual kitchens. This means you can grow your brand without the usual limits of having a physical space.
Virtual dining gives you a lot of info about what your customers like and how they order. This data is super useful for tweaking your marketing, adjusting your menu and its pricing, and keeping your customers happy. For instance, you might find out that your late-night burger special is a big hit, so you’ll want to do its promotion more often!
Virtual restaurants do have their drawbacks compared to traditional ones.
Starting a virtual restaurant is pretty similar to launching a traditional one. You still need to do your research and plan things out carefully. Here’s the lowdown on how to start a virtual restaurant from home:
Take a look if there’s a need for your dishes. For example, if you’re thinking about opening a virtual taco place, see if there are tons of taco options or if people are craving something unique.
Double-check the local rules, especially for food delivery. For instance, your city might have specific regulations on packaging or speed limits. This way, you’d avoid fines and hassles.
A good business plan will help you figure out details in advance, so you’re ready for whatever comes your way. For example, if you haven’t thought through delivery logistics, you might end up with unhappy customers and missed orders.
Even though virtual restaurants can run with a small team, it’s crucial to hire skilled folks. Think about bringing on:
Put together a sample menu for testing and training. Understanding ingredient costs, food costs - to make scrumptious food without losing money, It’s also handy for fundraising or getting feedback before you go all-in.
Sure, you don’t need to worry about a dining room, but you still need the right funding to get your brand off the ground and running. For example, a new Virtual dining kitchen or restaurant would need staff, menu, company registration, inventory, kitchen space, pos software - that are must-haves before you start.
To grow your virtual restaurant beyond your local area, plan how your brand will adapt to different markets. For example, if you’re known for spicy tacos in your hometown, you might need to tweak your menu a bit if you’re launching in a place where people prefer milder flavors.
Virtual dining is set to evolve even more as new tech and online delivery trends keep pushing it forward.
For instance, AI-driven kitchen management is on the horizon. So, your kitchen can automatically adjust to orders, keep track of inventory, and even predict what you’ll need next.
Plus, advanced POS solutions like OneHubPOS mPOS can ease order management, connect with delivery platforms, and give you real-time inventory and sales reports. It can also connect you up with loyalty programs to keep your customers coming back.
On top of that, mobile apps are getting more intuitive, so customers are getting a smoother experience when ordering from their phones. So, when super-easy-to-use apps ease ordering, customers keep coming back for more.
Furthermore, online food ordering is booming! Last year, the number of people ordering food online jumped to 760 million, a 20% increase from the year before. And it’s not stopping there—by 2029, that number is expected to hit 2.5 billion.
Why? People are loving the convenience of having food delivered right to their doorsteps. Delivery services like DoorDash and Uber Eats are making it even easier.
To get ahead of these trends, you should invest in the right tools and tech. This includes:
Opening a virtual restaurant is pretty awesome! It cuts down on overhead costs, helps you reach more customers, and takes advantage of the big delivery trends. Plus, you can run your business more smoothly and flexibly without needing a physical dining area.
To make your shift to virtual dining easy, OneHubPOS is the perfect POS system. It comes with powerful tools and integrations to improve your efficiency. Book a demo with us and find out how OneHubPOS can help you succeed in the virtual dining space today!
A virtual business restaurant is a type of restaurant that operates only online. It doesn’t have a physical location where customers can dine in. Instead, it exists purely to handle online orders for delivery or takeout.
A cloud restaurant or cloud kitchen operates from a commercial kitchen but has no physical storefront. It’s designed for handling online orders and deliveries only.
A virtual cafe is similar to a virtual restaurant but focuses on cafe-style items like coffee, pastries, and light meals. It operates online and delivers to customers without a dine-in area.
Virtual food brands run exclusively online, using delivery platforms to reach customers. They might operate out of a shared kitchen space and focus on making food for delivery only. They often use the same kitchen to offer multiple brands or menus.
To start a virtual cafe, you’ll need to:
Sahana is a seasoned GTM leader with a passion for building startups. She excels in crafting GTM strategies for tech products, driving revenue growth.
