Some Big Boy restaurants will be offering Olga’s classic dishes for takeout only: Here’s where

Olga’s Kitchen fans outside of the Detroit metro area will soon have a new ordering option as the longtime restaurant chain partners with another longtime iconic Michigan brand.

Olga’s Kitchen, known for its signature gyros on its famous Olga bun, has partnered with Big Boy, home of Big Boy burgers and Slim Jim sandwiches, as the host kitchen.

Olga’s classic items, like the Original Olga and their famous Olga Snacks, will be available to order online and prepared in the kitchens of three out-of-state Big Boy restaurants.

Ryan Jones, vice president of operations for Olga’s Kitchen, said the locations are new areas for the Detroit-based chain that is more than 50 years old.

Jones said they were looking for a Michigan partner to house and run their brand and Big Boy “seemed like a natural fit.”

A host kitchen, unlike so-called “ghost,” “virtual,” or “dark” kitchens where a kitchen prepares food for other brands solely for delivery, partners with other restaurant brands to prepare their menu items.

“There’s more transparency about where food comes from,” Jones said. “There’s nothing secret about it.”

But don’t get too excited about heading to a local Big Boy restaurant, sitting down, and enjoying an Olga sandwich.

There is a caveat.

The first three locations are outside of the Detroit metro area and are located in Battle Creek, Midland and Muskegon.

While Olga’s partners with these three Big Boy restaurants to house and manufacture select Olga’s items, these items are available for takeout only. You cannot dine-in Olga’s orders at select Big Boy restaurants.

Customers place orders from Olga’s Kitchen through the website for pickup at Big Boy host kitchens or order through third-party platforms such as DoorDash.

The Big Boy location receives the order where its employees prepare Olga’s order and it is available for pickup at that location, although you won’t see any Olga signage according to Big Boy, nor any delivery.

“You have pretty much every option except dining out,” Jones said.

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The Big Boy restaurant host kitchen rollout will take place July 10 for the Midland location, followed by Muskegon on July 17 and July 24 for the Battle Creek Big Boy.

Olga’s Kitchen, owned and operated by Livonia-based TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants, has partnered with three other host kitchens.

There’s Applebee’s (also operated by TEAM Schostak in downtown Detroit at the Millender Center) and two other restaurants in Ohio.

Jones said the three current host kitchens are doing a good job of driving consistent, complementary incremental sales through their product partnership.

“We have such brand equity locally, in Northeast Ohio and Michigan, that people are aware of our brand,” he said. “There’s a lot of demand for this product in parts of the state where we don’t have a physical restaurant.”

For the host partner, Jones said there are no royalties involved and called the process transparent for his partners who order Olga products from food distributors.

Customers will also not see Olga’s signage.

“We continue to strive to maximize our business, and part of that is adding strategic hospitality partners, like Olga’s, where it makes sense to do so,” Frank Alessandrini, Big Boy’s vice president of operations, said in an email to the Free Press.

The three locations, Alessandrini said, were chosen as “high traffic areas where a hospitality kitchen could flourish.”

“We are very excited to see two great Michigan brands come together,” said Alessandrini. “There are many more surprises in store for us from this partnership and we look forward to the first milestone, which will be the very successful launch of these hospitality kitchens.”

Olga is confident in the partnership with Big Boy, Jones said, because of its more than a dozen locations.

“We’re starting with three stores to see how it goes, but we’re very confident that they’re going to have significant sales and be willing to open more in other locations where they have them.”

Olga’s Kitchen is owned and operated by Livonia-based TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants, whose restaurant operations also include Applebee’s, MOD Pizza and Wendy’s locations throughout Michigan.

Contact Detroit Free Press food reporter Susan Selasky and send her your food and dining news at [email protected]. Follow @SusanMariecooks on X (formerly Twitter). Support local journalism and become a digital subscriber to the free press.

This article was originally published on Detroit Free Press: Olga’s Kitchen partners with Big Boy restaurants as hospitality kitchen