Deliveroo Captures Two More Popular Brands for its ‘Dark Kitchens’ Project

Restaurant and food delivery giant Deliveroo has acquired two more popular London operators for its so-called ‘dark kitchens’ Editions initiative, MCA has reported. Brixton-born French dip (meat sandwich dipped into gravy) specialists, Dip & Flip will move to the new operation at Whitechapel in east London, while one of London’s most popular homegrown (also Brixton-born) burger chains, Honest, have taken a premises in Swiss Cottage in the north of the city.

For Dip & Flip, the move to Whitechapel marks a first move outside of south London. Its four existing sites are in Brixton, Battersea, Wimbledon and Tooting, and therefore causes one to wonder whether the owners are using Deliveroo Editions to trial the product in the (gourmet-junk food) lucrative east end.

Dip & Flip, whose slogan is “Gravy, French Dips, Hamburgers, Craft Beer” will join the three existing tenants at Deliveroo’s nascent Whitechapel location, all of which are backed by Chris Miller’s White Rabbit Fund: Andrew Wong’s Chinese Takeaway; Namma by the founders of Kricket; and Island Poke.

Honest Burgers, meanwhile, need trial no more. The chain, which is backed by Active Partners, now stands at 25 sites nationwide, including 23 in London. Although the brand’s burgers are available at multiple locations via Deliveroo across the city, this is the first time it has moved into a kitchen-only site operated by the company. Currently Honest’s most northerly site is in Camden, and although it will be competing with 16 other burger operators on Deliveroo’s books in the area — the affluent Swiss Cottage neighbourhood represents one of very few new markets left open to it.

London is a lot of things; tired of burgers (via delivery) it is not.

• Dip & Flip and Honest Burgers join Editions [MCA/Paywall]
• All of Eater London’s restaurant delivery coverage [ELDN]