Owning a digitally exclusive brand may have been inconceivable a year ago , but an increasing number of restaurants are preferring to focus on their online footprint . New York City – based Otto ’ s Tacos is one brand moving its real estate digital , and is using barbecue restaurant Mighty Quinn ’ s to help it do so .

“[ Otto ’ s Tacos and Mighty Quinn ’ s ] kind of came up with the idea of bringing back Otto ’ s Tacos as a delivery – only concept ,” Mighty Quinn ’ s cofounder Micha Magid says . “ We didn ‘ t really have the bandwidth or desire to open up more brick – and mortar – locations , and we ’ re lucky in that Otto ’ s four restaurants were located in areas that we had serviced through Mighty Quinn ‘ s footprint .”

Under this partnership structure , Mighty Quinn ’ s licenses Otto ‘ s Tacos name and fulfills orders from its kitchen . Customers then receive their digital order from Otto ’ s Tacos using first – or third – party platforms .

The roots of this partnership stretch pre – pandemic , as the two brands lived about a block away from each other in New York City ’ s East Village . When COVID -19 challenged Otto ’ s Taco ’ s ability to survive after seven years as a brick and mortar , the two brands kept in contact and developed the partnership.

Otto’s Tacos has served customers for more than a month under this new setup, and Magid says the partnership has gone smoothly .

“ Everything is done out of the Mighty Quinn ‘ s kitchens . Otto ‘ s Tacos is obviously very supportive of what we ‘ re doing and are with us to ensure that everything we ‘ re doing in our kitchen meets the Otto ‘ s Tacos brand standard ,” he says . “ The food is coming out exactly the same as it was under their locations .”

For Magid , the food itself is one aspect that makes the partnership so seamless . Even though Mexican food and barbecue are two distinct restaurant categories , Otto ’ s Tacos’ simple menu allows Mighty Quinn ’ s to step into a nother food category without expending a significant amount of resources . But this may not be the case for every restaurant collaboration .

“ Not all kitchens were set up to do everything . For example , a dumpling shop can ‘ t crank out brick – oven pizzas ,” Magid says . “ I think it ‘ s really trying to find where your core competency lives and what your infrastructure will allow you to do .”

For restaurants that do find their ghost kitchen match , there can be big advantages in a similar type of partnership . In Mighty Quinn ’ s case , working Otto ’ s Tacos into their earnings didn ’ t require any capital investment to start . The partnership also allowed Mighty Quinn ’ s to use available kitchen space due to the lack of catering orders and overall sales shift .

Considering the brutal effects of COVID -19 on New York City ’ s restaurant industry , finding another source of income may be the difference between sinking or survival . By August 2020, employment in the restaurant industry was still only 55 percent of its pre – pandemic levels in February . And though indoor dining bans have lifted in some parts of New York , New York City had been slow to recover.

Conversely , the pandemic brought flocks of new consumers to the digital scene . According to a survey from market research group Morning Consult , more than 25 percent of people are willing to wait at least six months before eating in – person at a restaurant or cafe .

This shift wasn ’ t a problem for Mighty Quinn ’ s , which had already developed its off – premises system when indoor dining shut down in March . Magid says the restaurant industry ’ s move to the digital space was something years in the making .

“ This trend towards digital and off – premises consumption was obviously a very strong growth driver before the pandemic ,” he says . “ COVID just accelerated that trend probably by about three or four years , and did it in three or four months . So we were already going there — we just got there quicker .”

But while technology has made partnerships like this a new money – making opportunity , Magid wants to continue focusing on Mighty Quinn ’ s growth . He doesn ’ t anticipate the need to work with other restaurant brands in the ghost kitchen capacity as it looks to expand .

Magid instead sees the second source of income as a way to stay profitable while it finds franchisees in new markets . As New York City ’ s fickle restaurant restrictions keep Mighty Quinn ’ s in a wait – and – see mode for growth , working with Otto ’ s Tacos gives the barbecue brand ’ s strategy a reliable source of revenue .

“ This [ partnership ] is really something that wasn ‘ t really part of our plan necessarily at the start of the year . It was just an opportunistic thing to pursue ,” Magid says . “ For us , we just continue to focus on our core restaurants . This is something we were able to supplement what had already been on the plan for 2021.” read moreFast CasualMighty Quinn's