On Monday, May 4, Smokey Bones will open its first ghost kitchen in Chicago offering delivery only, and is the first casual dining brand to launch a virtual brand inside a Ghost Kitchen.
Barbecue loving Chicagoans can order through Grubhub, Uber Eats, DoorDash and ezCater for corporate catering. Burger and Wing Loving Chicagoans now have another delicious choice via the innovative recipes of The Burger Experience and The Wing Experience, both virtual sub-brands of Smokey Bones. The virtual restaurants launch in July.
The Ghost Kitchen menu will be a mix of Smokey Bones’ most popular dishes such as its award-winning slow smoked ribs and pulled pork, as well as the most highly searched items for the area. Some of the other menu offerings include wings, burgers, grilled salmon, and salads.
The Virtual Restaurants feature Smokey Bones top selling burgers and wings, including unique recipes such as the Big Kahuna Burger and Maple Bacon BBQ Wings, curated specifically for The Burger Experience and The Wing Experience, by the Smokey Bones culinary team.
The Chicago kitchen will be staffed with Smokey Bones pitmasters and cooks to prep, cook and package the food. The food is then transferred to Kitchen United employees who hand-off to third party delivery services. Guests can also order online at smokeybones.com or kitchenunited.com, for curbside pickup. The kitchen can be found at 831 N Sedgwick Street.
“Leveraging technology to increase the availability of Smokey Bones is guided by our “anytime / anywhere” off-premise vision,” says CEO James O’Reilly. “That we can open a new urban point of distribution during an economic downturn speaks to our confidence in this strategy and the strength of our partnership with Kitchen United.”
“As restaurants face one of their biggest economic challenges, it’s great to see Smokey Bones investing in new, innovative ways to grow their business,” says Jim Collins, CEO of Kitchen United. “We think partnerships like the one we have with Smokey Bones are another way to help the restaurant industry get back on its feet.”
The new Smokey Bones ghost kitchen allows the restaurant to offer its menu to more people at more affordable operational costs. It also provides Smokey Bones an opportunity to introduce its brand to a new market before making a bigger, long term investment.
Smokey Bones already has Illinois full service restaurants in Springfield and Rockford.
