In this episode of The Barron Report, host Paul Barron sits down with James O'Reilly, the chief executive officer of Smokey Bones, to explore the popular barbecue chain’s latest ventures into the ghost kitchen and virtual brand space.

Three Key Points:

Smokey Bones launched its first two virtual brands in 2019. The chain has been recognized as one of the top twenty fast casual brands to watch by Fast Casual Magazine. Its virtual brand, Wing Experience, was also named QSR Magazine’s most exciting virtual brands in the United States.

Smokey Bones invested in a virtual brand strategy in order to build the profile of other—often overlooked—parts of the chain’s menu, including burgers and wings. Thanks to their success, Smokey Bones has continued building momentum for both of the brands.

To simplify its processes, Smokey Bones uses the same tech backbone for all of its brands, using one operating system and one menu management system. The chain also ensures that all of its virtual brand products are easy for its kitchens to create and execute, but still appealing to customers.

Tweetable Quotes:

“Ghost kitchens and virtual brands give us the ability to increase our points of distribution in a very efficient way, especially in trade areas where we have restaurants.” – James O'Reilly

“The key to success is to offer menu items that operationally and logistically have overlap with what you’re already good at doing.” – James O'Reilly

“One of the biggest challenges is balancing the need to differentiate these brands with the need to keep them operationally as consistent as possible… we are constantly learning and adapting as we move forward, finding ways to make these brands easier to operate while protecting the incremental business that we’ve been experiencing.” – James O'Reilly

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