Applebee s
Bloomin Brands says Tender Shack, made inside 725 restaurants, could be a $75 million business.
Cosmic Wings replaces a virtual brand Applebee s launched last year on Grubhub.
Cracker Barrel is testing an off-premise only store that will roll out a chicken and biscuits delivery only brand this week.
Applebee s launched a new virtual restaurant dubbed Cosmic Wings on Wednesday. It s a delivery-only brand featuring Cheetos-flavored wings that actually replaces its other dark kitchen concept, Neighborhood Wings by Applebee s.
The next day, Bloomin Brands, the parent company of Outback Steakhouse, announced the national rollout of Tender Shack. The company is turning 725 restaurants, including Carrabba s Italian Grill, Outback and fine dining brand Fleming s, into dark kitchens to produce the new chicken tender virtual brand.
The chicken concept is partnering with Cheetos to debut with distinctive menu items
Dine Brands Global Inc. is the latest casual-dining chain to roll out a virtual chicken concept with the launch Wednesday of Cosmic Wings.
The delivery-only brand features fried chicken wings and boneless wings, which are battered and fried chicken breast pieces, as well as chicken tenders, waffle fries, onion rings and cheese bites. The items will be prepared out of nearly 1,300 Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar kitchens and will be available exclusively via third-party delivery company Uber Eats, according to Dine Brands.
To add a bit of distinctiveness to the concept, Dine Brands is teaming up with Frito-Lay North America to offer menu items coated in a choice of regular or Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Regular and spicy Cheetos sauces are also available, along with other sauces including honey barbecue, blue cheese and ranch.
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