By Chase Holmes, News Reporter
TRUSSVILLE — Wow Bao is here to bring the buns to Trussville.
Behind the counter of Wing It On! in Trussville at The Shoppes at Deerfoot is a not-so-secret enterprise that some may have heard called a dark kitchen.
Dark kitchens, also called virtual kitchens or ghost kitchens, are food entities that operate out of an existing restaurant on a delivery or pickup basis. The concept has been around for a while but soared in popularity during the pandemic when sitting down in a restaurant just wasn’t an option.
Now Trussville has one of these dark kitchens serving up the goods.
Wow Bao was founded 20 years ago as a fast casual Asian concept out of Chicago. Wow Bao President and CEO Geoff Alexander said they launched their first so-called dark kitchen in 2019 and never expected how quickly the idea would grow, spurred on by the pandemic.
Wow Bao sells an eclectic mix of Asian dishes. The most prominent item on their menu is of course their bao buns that come in a range of flavors including teriyaki, BBQ pork, spicy Mongolian and even cheeseburger. For those who have never eaten one, bao is a soft, pillowy bun usually filled with meat and vegetables. Bao can be purchased in packs of two or can be bundled with one of their rice bowls or potstickers. Both the bowls and potstickers can be purchased separately. ‘Famous fried rice’ is also available.
Alexander said they saw their concept as a way to help local restaurants to survive in the face of shutdowns in the pandemic and still see it as a tool for restaurants to increase revenue during lean times. “We wanted to help restaurants survive. We’re really proud of the fact that we were able to help. We wanted to help them put food on their tables and their employees tables,” he said. “We have a robust pipeline coming up and we’re proud of the partnership with Wing It On!”
Wow Bao can be ordered through Door Dash, UberEats and GrubHub. Orders can be placed from 11 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m.- 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 12 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. on Sunday. These are the same operating hours as Wing It On!
For more information about Wow Bao and dark kitchens, you can visit their website at wowbao.com.