RBI opens first virtual food hall in Miami, with plans for a second

Dive Brief:

Restaurant Brands International has opened a digital food hall called Kylo (Kitchens You Love) at a former Burger King location in Miami, the company wrote in an email to Restaurant Dive. Diners can order food for takeaway from in-store kiosks, or order pickup and delivery via the Kylo website and app or through major third-party delivery platforms.
Kylo includes menus from RBI brands Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs. The food hall also offers fare from local restaurants Spris Artisan Pizza, Ms. Cheezious and Sergio’s Cuban American Kitchen, as well as ice cream from Jeni’s.
RBI has been developing Kylo for more than a year, Luis Maia, head of Kylo and vice president of dark kitchens and virtual brands at RBI, told Miami New Times.

Dive Insight:

RBI already has plans to expand the Kylo store format over the next year, the company wrote. Kylo’s website notes that a location in Kendall, Florida, is “coming soon.”

“Guests increasingly expect a flexible and on-demand dining experience, so we saw an opportunity to create a digital-first, multi-brand concept to better meet these needs,” Maia said in a statement.

To promote Kylo’s launch, RBI will serve exclusive menu items from the Miami location that mash up RBI menu items with food from the local restaurants operating in the space. These offerings include the Popeyes x Spris Chicken Sandwich Pizza, which uses the RBI chain’s chicken, and the Burger King x Ms. Cheezious Short Rib Melt, which uses Burger King fries. The menu items will be available for two weeks.

The Kylo launch builds on recent RBI investments in its digital business. In September, the company announced it was pouring $30 million into Burger King’s digital channels to improve integrated payment processing and the chain’s Royal Perks rewards program, as well as develop personalized digital offerings. Digital sales made up almost $3.4 billion in sales during the third quarter, making up one-third of the company's consolidated systemwide sales, CEO Jose Cil said during the company’s October earnings call.

This development also comes just a month after Business Insider reported RBI was ending its relationship with ghost kitchen provider Reef, which delivers restaurant food ordered through digital channels and prepared across a network of kitchen vessels. RBI didn’t disclose why it was no longer working with the platform. Reef shared this summer that it was shifting to a multi-brand approach similar to what RBI is offering at Kylo.