Celebrity chef Guy Fieri has opened more than 100 delivery-only, pop-up restaurants in over 20 states and the District of Columbia, including one in Gaithersburg.
The “Flavortown Kitchen” restaurants feature a variety of Americana cuisine including their signature Bourbon Brown Sugar BBQ Wings and the Mac N’ Cheese Burger according to the company website.
The Gaithersburg restaurant, located at 122 Kentlands Boulevard, operates out of an existing industrial kitchen. Orders can be placed through their website as well as third-party apps such as DoorDash and Uber Eats.
Dubbed “ghost kitchens,” this type of business model has become very popular during the age of COVID-19. They are delivery-only restaurants with no physical space for customers. Orders are made in one location, picked up by a delivery driver and dropped off to the customer. Euromonitor, a market research firm, recently estimated that ghost kitchens could be a $1 trillion business by 2030.
This feat was created through a partnership between Fieri and British-American restaurateur Robert Earl. In 2018, the pair created a fast-casual chicken restaurant called “Chicken Guy!” The chain currently has four locations in Florida, California and Maryland. The Maryland location is at FedEx Field in Landover, Md – home of the Washington Football Team – and only offers food during game days.
During an interview with the Washington Post, Fieri stated that each employee is trained by members of his and Earl’s companies and each meal is prepared from scratch.
“Flavortown Kitchen” first introduced locations in late January and early February. The three other Maryland locations are Bel-Air, Timonium and White Marsh.
