25 Days of Wicked Good Christmas: Is MrBeast Burger Secretly Setting Out To Save Struggling Restaurants?

In case you haven’t been up on news in the fast food world, YouTube legend MrBeast posted a video on the 19th, announcing that he opened up a restaurant that pays you to eat at it.

The restaurant, MrBeast Burger, “employed” MrBeast and his friends, and throughout the video they gave away food and money to most people who came through the drive thru.

Very shortly after this, MrBeast announced he was opening up 300 more locations, with plans to expand internationally. In a virtual heartbeat, MrBeast burgers became available on most major food delivery apps, in almost every major market in the United States.

Aside from the viral cash and prize giveaways at MBB’s flagship locations, could there be a more multi-layered charitable endeavor at hand. Every location was “popped up” at local small restaurants, sometimes referred to as “ghost locations” or “ghost restaurants”. Think of, like, a Spirit Halloween that serves food.

In an interview with QSR, Robert Earl (co-founder of Virtual Dining Concepts, who helped MrBeast bring this endeavor to life), said the restaurants include a menu that “is designed to easily operate out of any restaurant kitchen.” They also point out this interesting observation:

Adding a virtual brand that benefits both independent and chain restaurants currently experiencing challenges is an initiative that Jimmy was able to get behind. With Virtual Dining Concepts, adding MrBeast Burger to an existing operational kitchen provides an additional revenue stream and allows restaurateurs a seamless way to enter the burgeoning virtual restaurant sector.

MrBeast Burger Crashes the Virtual Dining Scene, QSR

So, if all the crumbs add up here – MrBeast Burger could be a two-headed philanthropic front.

On one hand, he gives to his patrons through prizes and cash giveaways, and on the other, he’s propping up local small businesses and kitchens by plastering his name on the front and attracting new customers (who hopefully will continue to frequent the real businesses if and when the MrBeast Burger experiment ends, if it is an experiment at all).

What do you think about this? Is this a hail mary to save small businesses during a global pandemic and the season of giving? Or am I just making too much of a cool news story? Let us know on Twitter at @WickedGoodGames.