Choose merchant sales, courier work or your own platform
A virtual restaurant is a delivery-focused food concept operating from a physical kitchen. Opening its merchant account means selling meals; signing up as a courier means accepting delivery work. Operating an ordering platform is a third business with its own acquisition, support and supplier responsibilities.
This guide is for restaurant operators. For delivery work, use the official Uber courier, DoorDash Dasher or Grubhub driver channels. Restaurant software is not a substitute for those applications.
Prepare the kitchen and merchant application
Before listing a brand, establish who operates the kitchen, its address, production capacity, fulfillment area and accountable contact. Check the registrations, food-service permissions and operating requirements with the relevant local authorities. A platform application does not replace permission to operate.
Prepare the menu, real food photos, opening hours, preparation estimates and pickup instructions. Have the legal operator, authorized signatory, settlement-account and tax information ready to provide securely when requested. Ask each platform for its exact country-specific document list, commercial agreement and virtual-brand eligibility; do not assume one approval covers the others.
Use the platform’s merchant route
Uber Eats: start with its virtual-restaurant merchant page. Its current material distinguishes marketplace discovery from Uber Direct fulfillment for owned-channel orders. Select the model, then confirm local onboarding, available delivery options, fees and any proposed POS connection.
DoorDash: apply through DoorDash for Merchants. Its US virtual-brand requirements, checked October 21, 2026, require at least 50% differentiation in main dishes from other menus at the address, at least eight distinct food items, and representative photos. Review the complete current menu and ongoing performance requirements before applying; relabeling the same food is not a new qualifying menu.
Grubhub: use the official restaurant signup route. It requests a menu and business information and offers advisor assistance. Confirm that your virtual concept, kitchen and service area are eligible and that the proposed fulfillment arrangement is available. No provider’s public application promises approval or an activation date.
Cost one meal on each channel
Calculate contribution using the amount received after discounts and applicable channel charges, less food, packaging, variable labor, delivery you fund and expected refunds. Separate marketplace marketing commission, delivery, processing, paid promotion and recurring software rather than calling all of them one commission.
Grubhub’s US pricing separates marketing and delivery charges and directs New York City restaurants to different terms. Use the current local agreement for every platform. For a direct channel, add the traffic acquisition, platform, payment, delivery and support costs your business will bear. Missing fees remain unquoted; they are not zero.
Publish a menu the kitchen can fulfill
Start with dishes that travel well and a manageable peak load. Define portions, modifiers, allergens as supplied by the operator, sold-out handling, cutoffs and delivery packaging. Check that prices and item identifiers match the agreed channel rules; name the system responsible for menu changes.
Assign staff to acceptance, preparation, packing and courier handoff. Keep delivery-platform and direct orders distinguishable. A marketplace listing or an API does not establish synchronization with Ordering.co or your POS; demonstrate each proposed connector’s menu, order, status and cancellation behavior.
Run a first-order pilot before expanding
Use the provider-approved test process or a controlled order under its terms. Follow menu selection, required modifiers, payment, merchant receipt, acceptance, kitchen ticket, packing, handoff and customer confirmation. Reconcile the order reference, fees and settlement record. Then check an unavailable item, cancellation and a missed handoff.
Expand hours or channels when the team can repeat the service and the contribution works. For your own branded channel, review Ordering.co restaurant solutions alongside the marketplace connector directory. Book a demo with the kitchen, menu, channel agreements and first-order scenario; marketplace audience and approval do not transfer automatically.