North Bay entrepreneur tests the virtual restaurant market with poutine

If you drive up and down Wyld Street, the chances are you will not find one of North Bay's newest restaurants. 

The Wyld Street Poutinerie officially opened in mid-January.  However, it's not your traditional restaurant.  There is no storefront. It is literally a virtual restaurant. 

John Lechlitner is the owner of the new virtual restaurant which has its kitchen located at Cecil's Brewhouse and Kitchen and the Grande Event Centre. 

"We are always looking to evolve, we are always looking at where the industry is moving," said Lechlitner.  

"We were already doing business through 'Skip the Dishes' at Cecil's and in discussions with some of our staff, we decided to launch into the virtual restaurant business. Basically, it comes out of the same kitchen as the Event Centre, the catering, that kind of stuff comes out. We have got the facilities so we launched the virtual restaurant."

See related: New Poutine only restaurant opening this week

Lechlitner says the food orders are done through Skip The Dishes. He believes ready-to-eat meals are becoming more popular, whether it is delivered to your home or picked up at a grocery store.  

"Now you can download and app that gives you access, whether it's one brand or many brands," he said.  

"Technology allows us to pull it up in real-time in the restaurant, prepare it and it can be out the door in 15 to 20 minutes."  

Lechlitner felt making a virtual poutine restaurant would a good fit.  

"It is relatively popular on the Cecil's menu, it is a kind of Canadian comfort food," he said.  

"I did a little bit of research, had some discussions with Skip the Dishes and we decided that was the product to try. It also fits very well - we already cut our own potatoes for the fries, we make our gravy. All those things. It is just a matter of increasing the preparation, changing a few of the products that we stock in the kitchen, but it was not like perhaps bringing in an ethnic food that we were not already familiar with. This is something we had a comfort level with and we felt there was a relatively strong market for."

Lechlitner says there are some challenges with running a virtual restaurant. 

"The challenges are to get staff to evolve as the trends evolve," he said.  

"I am not one for change just for the sake of change but I am in favour of change regardless of what it is. Whether it improves a product or improves service or improves an opportunity."