Dining Out

Celebrity chef's new restaurant comes to Westborough

  • Posted by Dining Out March 5, 2021 - Filed in Food & Dining - #Westborough  #Guy Fieri  #Flavortown Kitchen  - 10,395 views

     Guy Fieri's new venture puts spotlight on latest restaurant trend

    Menu options from Flavortown Kitchen. (Virtual Dining Concepts)

    It’s not a diner, a drive-in or a dive, but celebrity chef Guy Fieri’s new restaurant venture brings Flavortown to Westborough.

    The Food Network star, whose shows include “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” and “Guy’s Grocery Games,” has launched Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Kitchen, a chain of more than 100 restaurants that are operated within existing restaurants.

    One of the newest Flavortown Kitchens is at Bertucci’s on Route 9 in Westborough.

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    Flavortown Kitchen is a virtual restaurant or “ghost kitchen” that cashes in on the rising demand for takeout and delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Without a standalone restaurant, Flavortown menu items are prepared by local chefs. As its website reads: “Flavortown Kitchen is a delivery only restaurant featuring real-deal flavors from Chef Guy Fieri. … [A]ll of Flavortown’s favorites come straight to your door step.”

    The menu at its Westborough location includes 3 appetizers or “shareables”, 5 burgers and sandwiches, 4 entrees or salads, 3 sides and 2 desserts. 

    The menu, much of which is comprised of Fieri’s greatest hits, includes the aforementioned Mac N Cheese Burger ($12.99), Jalapeño Pig Poppers ($12.99), Cajun Chicken Alfredo ($14.99), Chicken Parm-eroni ($14.99), and Super Melty Cheesesteak Egg Rolls ($14.99).

    Bertucci’s in Westborough is also the home of 4 virtual restaurants, including Flavortown Kitchen.

    The concept is being popularized by Virtual Dining Concepts, which is owned by restaurateur Robert Earl. According to an article in the Washington Post: “ To date, all 100 Flavortown Kitchens (more will be installed in the days and weeks ahead, Earl said) have been placed in restaurants owned by Earl. A check of the addresses of each Flavortown location finds that they are all connected to a Buca di Beppo, Bertucci’s, Brio or some other concept connected to the Florida-based Earl Enterprises.”

    In addition to Flavortown Kitchen, the Bertucci’s in Westborough is home to 3 other virtual restaurants, Tyga Bytes (boneless chicken bites), Wing Squad (chicken wings) and MrBeast Burgers (burgers and chicken sandwiches).

    While partnering with a virtual brand does offer a new revenue stream for existing restaurants that may have been hit hard by the pandemic, a recent article in the Hartford Courant quoted local chefs who called the virtual dining business a ‘cash grab’ that undermines local restaurants.

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