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From the outside, Gourmet Deli at 90th Street and First Avenue seems like every other deli spread across the city.
On a typical morning, various locals pop in for bacon, egg and cheese bagel sandwiches and $1.50 drip coffee.
But, another wave of customers is flooding in through food delivery apps — only they don’t know they’re ordering from a bodega.
The deli located at 1741 First Avenue is advertised as no less than 27 different restaurants across Uber Eats, Postmates, Grubhub, Seamless and DoorDash.
On those platforms, it’s listed as First Avenue Gourmet Deli, Hero Sandwich Shop, Bosscat Cheesesteaks, The Pancake Snob, Wraps on Tap, Insomnia Buffalo Wings, Panini Fantasy, Jasmine’s Coffee Bar, Jen’s Burger Blaze, NY Smoothie Joint, Nomad’s Bagels, Tina’s Tea Shop, Aldo’s Wraps Spot, Wonderland Wraps, Sam’s Sandwich Spot, Smoothie and Dessert Spot, Princess Panini, Tessa’s Fruity Treats, Empire State Panini, The Sandwich Slut, La Bella Italian Desserts, Seth’s Sandwiches, The Sandwich Vibe, LV Taco Bar, Queen’s Quesadillas, The Gourmet Burger and Drip Check Coffee Shop.
Each spot has an eerily similar menu, but prices can differ — especially from the original outpost.
Princess Panini, Empire State Panini, and Panini Fantasy all offer a Tuna Melt Panini for $16 to $17. First Avenue Gourmet Deli sells theirs for $9.
During the pandemic, virtual restaurants — in which a single brick-and-mortar space operates a number of “delivery only” operations under different names — sprang up as businesses looked for new revenue streams. They rose alongside, and are often confused with, ghost kitchens, in which an existing restaurant is rented by a new crew to operate a delivery-only kitchen.
Both business models continue to exist — in a quick sweep, The Post found 10 delis across the five boroughs that operated, on average, eight different “restaurants” — but some customers say the virtual spots feel like false advertising.
In a viral thread on Twitter, numerous users weighed in to say they felt “tricked” to discover the restaurant they were ordering from was actually a chain restaurant or, worse, a gas station.
“‘Virtual Brand’ = always a no. Sorry if they’re great, I’ll never know. It seems irresponsible, like where is the chain of liability if someone gets sick from the food??” @ChismesYPuteria tweeted.
“Idk if this is misleading or straight up ‘scammy,'” @LutfilLeHadi said of the practice on Twitter.
The Post spoke to a manager at Gourmet Deli who said they were aware of the various online listings but not privy to details. They said the partner who manages the online brands was out of the country and could not be reached.
In some cases, a chain restaurant will list itself as a different brand to appeal to more customers. Denny’s, one of the country’s largest chains, also offers its menu, for delivery only, under the name the Meltdown.
The Meltdown’s branding — “handcrafted sandwiches with attitude” — is quite distinct from Denny’s: “always open, always serving your favorites.”
Hospitality insiders note that virtual kitchens aren’t necessarily good for the industry.
“They add more competition to an already competitive marketplace and can harm existing restaurants,” Andrew Rigie, executive director of NYC Hospitality Alliance, told The Post. “If all of a sudden there’s multiple virtual brands competing with your brand online, it undercuts and undermines your business and makes it that much more difficult.”
Food safety is also a concern.
Most delis and bodegas in the city are classified as “stores,” “supermarkets” and “food manufacturers,” and regulated by New York State’s Department of Agriculture and Markets not the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
As such, they are not subject to the same letter grades and inspections as traditional restaurants.
Delivery platforms have, for the most part, allowed — and in some cases even encouraged — virtual restaurants to proliferate.
On its website, Grubhub, which owns Seamless, promotes virtual restaurants as “the food industry’s secret weapon” that “boost profits” by allowing companies to “capture new business with very low risk.”
DoorDash’s website says that virtual kitchens offer “operators new opportunities to expand their business” by driving additional sales and enabling “restaurants to provide consistent shifts to their employees.”
Uber Eats, however, recently announced plans to crack down on the practice and remove 5,000 online storefronts.
It’s a “Wild West, anything goes kind of situation,” Uber Eats’ John Mullenholz told the Wall Street Journal. “It’s fair to say that kind of erodes consumer confidence.”
But, some people are happy so long as the meals are good.
“Whatever man,” Twitter user @rayRich77744950 said. “Is the food good? Did you die? Alright then. Gone order. Shiiiidddd.”
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