All Episodes

July 20, 2021 19 mins

You don’t need a dedicated storefront to make great food. With the rise of virtual brands and ghost kitchens, companies are producing and delivering food out of underutilized kitchens and making a killing.

Owners of virtual brands like Umami Burger, C3 is partnering with companies to expand into even more locations. They’ve recently raised $80 million in a Series B funding round to help boost their expansion efforts as they utilize ghost kitchens.

Join restaurateur Philip Camino and chef Nyesha Arrington as they take a closer look at what hospitality companies like C3 are doing and the boom of ghost kitchens and virtual brands on your favorite food delivery apps.

Listen to Philip and Nyesha discuss C3:

  • C3, known as Creating Culinary Communities, recently raised $80 million in a Series B funding round
  • C3 is a food tech company that has several virtual restaurant brands, including Umami Burger, Krispy Rice, and Sam’s Crispy Fried Chicken in ghost kitchens
  • C3 recently partnered with the point-of-sale integration company Chowly, giving more than 10,000 partners access to C3’s virtual brands
  • This allows partners to create additional revenue streams by allowing C3’s virtual brands to work out of their kitchens
  • C3 is looking to expand to 12,000 locations by 2021, leasing an assortment of hospitality and retail spaces to open food halls and physical locations for its virtual restaurants
  • They plan to open a 40,000 sq/ft food hall at Brookfield Manhattan West in NYC
  • They also agreed to acquire a 24,000 sq/ft food hall in Atlanta by 2022
  • C3 recently started their Citizens Go app, allowing customers to order from multiple virtual brands in one order
  • Dickey’s Barbeque Pit recently announced plans to add 100 ghost kitchens to its operations via a partnership with Combo Kitchen
  • In a deal with Nathan’s Famous, Franklin Junction will operate Arthur Treacher’s also out of 100 ghost kitchens before 2022

Links:

Happy Mouth Podcast Instagram

Restaurant Dive - C3 raises $80M to grow virtual brand footprint

Restaurant Dive - Dickey’s to add 100 ghost kitchens through Combo Kitchen partnership

Restaurant Dive - C3, Chowly partner to bring virtual brands to 10K restaurants

C3 - Website

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

Full Comp 

The Happy Mouth Morning Show

Restaurant Marketing School

The Playbook  

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce

New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce

Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!

The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club

The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!

Fudd Around And Find Out

Fudd Around And Find Out

UConn basketball star Azzi Fudd brings her championship swag to iHeart Women’s Sports with Fudd Around and Find Out, a weekly podcast that takes fans along for the ride as Azzi spends her final year of college trying to reclaim the National Championship and prepare to be a first round WNBA draft pick. Ever wonder what it’s like to be a world-class athlete in the public spotlight while still managing schoolwork, friendships and family time? It’s time to Fudd Around and Find Out!

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.