This Is Why the Famed Cheetos Restaurant Is Back and Hotter Than Ever

The current shift towards the healthy food trend has snack manufacturers breaking a sweat but it looks like Cheetos is embracing the heat. The crunchy and cheesy snack brand is back for the second year in a row with their famous Cheetos restaurant and this time their Cheetos-infused meals are hotter than ever with their new Flamin’ Hot Cheetos as their star ingredient.

The first-ever pop-up Cheetos restaurant, the Spotted Cheetah, which opened last year in New York, sold out their 300 reservations within just six hours. This year’s pop-up restaurant, The Flamin’ Hot Spot, is set to be open between September 18 and September 20 in Los Angeles. The limited time restaurant will be located in the heart of Hollywood Hills, California and fans were able to book reservations online starting September 13, however, all reservations have already been sold out and customers must now join a waitlist.

The menu at The Flamin’ Hot Spot was developed by Roy Choi, who is a well-known chef in the Los Angles area. He gained popularity in the media for his gourmet food truck concept and now co-owns the Kogi food truck business, Chego! restaurants and many more food service locations.

His Flamin’ Hot Cheetos-inspired menu will feature items such as the Hot Cheetos Burrito, Five-Alarm Cheetos Steak and XXTRA Flamin’ Hot Rice Bowl. The price of the three-course menu ranges from $11-$32 dollars and offers a variety of unique Cheetos-infused foods that are both sweet and savory.

“I have a fun side and a serious side. This is the fun me,” said chef Roy Choi. “I’ve wanted to pair Kogi and Chego items with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos for as long as I can remember, and now all of those late nights, road trips and the Cheetos dishes I have imagined can come true. I know the fans have thought about putting Hot Cheetos in a Kogi burrito – well, so have I and here it is and more!”

Consumers that are not able to book a reservation at The Flamin’ Hot Spot have the chance to try some of their unique dishes through participating retail partners. Cheetos has partnered with retail giant Walmart to provide select Walmart Online Grocery shoppers in the Los Angeles area with a surprise Flamin’ Hot Cheetos gift box which includes ingredients for select recipes. However, these Walmart deliveries are for a limited time while supplies last on September 16 and 17. Customers can also order fresh ingredients for certain Cheetos-infused dishes through AmazonFresh and Walmart Grocery. All of Choi’s Cheetos-inspired recipes are available for download at CheetosFlaminHotSpot.com so Cheetos fans can recreate them at home.

Although this pop-up restaurant is open for a very limited amount of time, Cheetos is likely to find success in marketing their Flamin’ Hot Cheetos products. The company has been able to counteract the growing demand for healthy food and snack options through unique marketing campaigns, such as this pop-up restaurant, influencer partnerships (such as the one with Roy Choi) and brand partnerships. One of the best marketing tactics that the company is currently using is promoting Cheetos as both a snack and ingredient.

This limited time restaurant is working to influence consumers to experiment with Cheetos. In fact, there is already a social media trend in which people are creating unique Cheetos-infused recipes of their own. Last year, the company partnered with Burger King to introduce Flamin’ Hot Mac n’ Cheetos, which made headlines as a unique take to mozzarella sticks. Such culinary innovations work to change the perspective of consumers so that they can consider Cheetos as additions to their favorite meals.

The millennial demographic is also known to appreciate new flavor experiences and have been found to be more experimental than their older counterparts, according to research from Global Data. In fact, this coveted demographic actively looks for new flavors and fragrances to explore and experiment with. This might be why Cheetos’ unique concept has caught so much attention on social media.

This new take on a classic snack will help the makers of Cheetos keep the brand afloat in a changing consumer market. Considering the fact that the restaurant had already sold out all reservations within the first day of applications, the company is likely to open another Cheetos restaurant next year.