CHICAGO, September 23, 2025 — Difficult times in the restaurant industry aren’t discouraging some of the best-known brands in other fields from giving the business a try. Then again, many of the big-name recent entrants are aiming more for marketing benefits than a straight financial payback.
Consider how these ventures with familiar names are following the leads of Nutella Cafe, the American Girl Cafe, Kellogg’s NYC Cereal Cafe, and Weber Grill Restaurants.
Netflix-themed cafe puts what viewers stream on a plate
The label for heavily themed restaurants inspired by popular pastimes used to be “eatertainment.” The designation currently in vogue is “immersive dining.” A prime example: Netflix Bites, the all-day cafe that opened earlier this year inside the MGM Grand hotel-casino in Las Vegas. Its menu consists of dishes that riff on shows carried by the streaming service: Stranger Wings, Eggs Benedict Bridgerton, Orange is the New Mac mac ‘n cheese.
Other options mimic what’s eaten on the streamed shows. The Eggo waffles that form the breakfast of the main characters on Stranger Things figure into some of the breakfast and lunch selections, for example.
Like some of the tv shows it references, the cafe was conceived to have a limited run. It’s been granted what Vegas refers to as a residency, or an extended but still a non-permanent stay, in this case a year. Bites is scheduled to conclude its engagement next February.
The question is what food-away-from-home venture might be next for Netflix. The streaming service notes that the Vegas cafe is run by MGM, not the company whose name it incorporates. But the in-hotel restaurant isn’t the first place to sport the Netflix Bites name. In 2023, a pop-up with that name was opened in Los Angeles to showcase tasting menus from celebrity chefs who had appeared on Netflix-streamed cooking programs.
And Netflix refers to the Vegas cafe as “A Netflix restaurant,” as if more could be in the making.
Tesla charges up its long-awaited retro diner
Budgets must be more of a concept than a firm-as-iron spending limitation when the world’s fourth-richest individual indulges a desire to open a restaurant. Instead of starting with a little cafe somewhere, Elon Musk has opened a 250-seat, 24-hour complex that features two 66-foot LED “megascreens” where patrons can watch movies and other entertainment.
If customers prefer, they can watch the programming via the screen of their Teslas as they wait for their vehicles to charge.
The building is located on West Hollywood’s Santa Monica Boulevard, not exactly a bargain-priced location.
The inclusion of 80 chargers for electric vehicles is one hint the Tesla Diner is there to support Musk’s main other business. Additional reminders include the Cybertruck-shaped packaging for the food and the electric vehicle accessories that share space in the retail shop with t-shirts and hats.
The menu incorporates classic diner items like chili, but with modern touches, such as being made with wagyu beef. Specialties include grilled cheese, apple pie, and a hot dog. Customers can order at kiosks or from their vehicles, with a runner bringing the food and drinks to the charging cars. Customers placing pick-up orders are texted when their order is ready.
The facility has been under development for years, initially with a secrecy that added to the project’s mystique. Now it’s a hit. One fan posted online that he had to wait 11 hours for a chance to order.
The question is whether the Tesla Diner will be duplicated elsewhere. Lines of customers may be routine, but signs of some operational challenges have already emerged, like the menu being trimmed after Week Three.
Former Legal Sea Foods owner gets back in the game
Legal Sea Foods may not have the near-universal awareness enjoyed by Netflix and Tesla, but it’s been a revered institution in Boston since the Berkowitz family started selling fish and chips from its seafood market in the early 1950s. Now scion Roger Berkowitz is returning to those roots with plans for a limited-service operation called Roger’s Fish & Chips. For Bostonians, that’s very big news.
The prototype will be a 700-square-foot counter-front operation in the city's Logan Airport. The outlet has applied for a license to sell alcohol products, but little else is known about it.
Roger Berkowitz, the son of Legal founder George Berkowitz, sold the family business in 2020. Since then, he’s remained in the seafood industry through Roger's Fish Co., a concern that ships fresh seafood overnight to customers.
Berkowitz told the media that he had been working on Roger’s Fish & Chips since before the pandemic took hold. His experience has been in full-service operations. The fish and chips venture would apparently be his first foray into the limited-service industry.
As Managing Editor for IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, Romeo is responsible for generating the group's news and feature content. He brings more than 40 years of experience in covering restaurants to the position.
Cover image courtesy: Closed Loop Project