As COVID-19 continues to hurt restaurants across the country, Thrillist, an online media company covering food, drink, travel and entertainment and New York City ghost kitchen operator Zuul are launching a rotating ghost kitchen program that will offer deliveries from some of the city’s most iconic and beloved chefs and restaurants.
Ghost kitchens, a type of restaurant only offering delivery, began popping up across the country prior to the pandemic as a new way for owners to bypass the hefty costs that come with brick-and-mortar establishments and since COVID have transformed into an essential business model.
“As an experience-based brand that is fervent about the culinary industry, we wanted to create a program that would help the industry as it works to evolve and reinvent itself during this difficult time, said Thrillist’s Chief Content Officer, Meghan Kirsch. “Our ambition is to continue offering our passionate audience the experiences they crave while helping the community endure this unprecedented time.”
The program will start next week on Dec.9 and run until April 16 of next year on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. Each of the 10 restaurants participating in the program will host a two-week chef residency with limited edition specialty meals for delivery. In order to help the restaurants thrive as part of the program, Thrillist has pledged to cover the cost of all food, labor, packaging and delivery. Some of the participating restaurants include Rao’s, Chinese Tuxedo, Sylvia’s, Caracas Arepa Bar and Milu.
Customers ordering delivery from the 10 participating restaurants will also receive a custom t-shirt inspired by the restaurant designed by a local artist along with an insulated branded reusable bag, a utensil set and wine tumbler to sweeten the deal.
“As New York’s first ghost kitchen, we hope to bring our expertise to a greater set of restaurateurs and operators that are part of the fabric of NYC’s culinary community,” said Sean Fitzgibbons, co-founder of Zuul.
Interested customers can place their orders here.
