TikTok Just Announced It's Opening a Restaurant Chain
Call it life imitating art, or something close to that. What started off as viral recipe videos inspiring hordes of social media users to experiment in their own kitchens has now translated into a brand new restaurant chain.
According to Business Insider, video sharing platform TikTok is planning to open a number of ghost kitchens across the United States in the coming months under the name TikTok Kitchens. The virtual restaurant chain will serve TikTok's greatest food hits, which means you'll now be able to try these craveable concoctions without setting foot in a kitchen—they'll instead be made by professional cooks.
You likely saw some of the widest-spread viral TikTok food videos–you may even have cooked up a few yourself. There was the Baked Feta Pasta that caused a cheese shortage in Finland, the Corn Ribs and the Pasta Chips that racked up "likes" numbering in the millions, and so on. All of these items will be making an appearance on TikTok Kitchens' menu. However, that's only the beginning—the company said the offerings will change seasonally and based on what's trending.
Proving itself ever enterprising, TikTok has harnessed the popularity of viral food videos and turned them into a delivery-only restaurant business. But the platform said the proceeds from sales will go toward supporting the creators of their #FoodTok content (although it's unclear exactly how it will be used.)
For now, we know that the platform plans to open 300 ghost kitchen locations by March and as many as 1,000 locations by the end of 2022. These kitchens will operate from the locations of other national restaurant chains like Buca di Beppo and Bertucci's, and other restaurants across the country can apply to host the TikTok Kitchens brand in their establishment.
TikTok has partnered with Virtual Dining Concepts, a company that specializes in virtual restaurant development, on this venture. As far as the deliveries go, GrubHub will be the concept's main delivery partner.
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