Guy Fieri Opens 18 'Ghost' Flavortown Kitchens In California

CALIFORNIA — Celebrity chef and humanitarian Guy Fieri just brought Flavortown to the Golden State with 18 newly opened "ghost kitchens." The takeout-only concept has understandably gained mass popularity during the coronavirus pandemic.

Fieri opened 100 Flavortown Kitchen locations in more than 20 states and Washington, D.C.

Across California, 18 of these ghost kitchens have opened — Brea, Campbell, Claremont, Carlsbad, Encino, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Pasadena, Rancho Cucamonga, Redondo Beach, Roseville, Universal City, Santa Clarita, Thousand Oaks and two in San Diego.

Menu items for the delivery-only restaurant include Bourbon Brown Sugar BBQ Wings, Cheesesteak Egg Rolls, Mac N' Cheese Burger, Crazy Cuban Sandwich and fried pickles, among other offerings. The "handpicked menu" features Fieri's favorite dishes, according to Flavortown.

Fieri, the bleach blonde, quirky host of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," launched Flavortown with Planet Hollywood founder Robert Earl. The kitchens are part of a new company, Virtual Dining Concepts LLC.

The company installs these floating or virtual kitchens at existing restaurants to help boost revenue streams driven by celebrities such as Fieri, the Washington Post reported. Flavortown launched with just a handful of locations in late January and early February in businesses owned by Earl.

Earl is also behind Bertucci's, Bravo Italian Kitchen, Brio Italian Grille and Buca di Beppo, according to Eater, which reported they already own the Chicken Guy! chain together.

Employees prepare food from scratch and are trained by Fieri and Earl's companies, The Post reported, although its writer stated: "Based on my limited tastings, they need more training."

Here's a list of all Flavortown Kitchens in the Golden State. Click here to place an order.

Patch staffers Elizabeth Janney, Tiffany Razzano and Jeff Arnold contributed to this report.