Rapper Wiz Khalifa Launches Delivery-Only Restaurant in LA This Fall

Rapper Wiz Khalifa joins the ranks of rappers turned delivery-only restaurant operators, with a new venture called HotBox by Wiz. Khalifa’s business starts on October 1 in Los Angeles, San Diego, and other cities with comfort and stoner-friendly dishes, with names that reference the 32-year-old rapper’s songs.

The delivery-only model appears to be an ongoing trend for rappers, DJs, and musicians as of late. Steve Aoki was perhaps the first, opening Aoki Pizza as a delivery-only pizzeria in 2018. Howlin’ Ray’s partnered with Post Malone last December with a Postmates delivery project that proved so popular, it broke the app. And last month, Tyga introduced Tyga Bites, and worked with chef Eric Greenspan to create baked nubs of chicken available on GrubHub.

The HotBox by Wiz menu includes a taylor gang turkey burger with a side of crispy house potato chips tossed with Parmesan cheese and lemon. Khalifa frequently refers to cannabis culture throughout his music, which explains the blazed ends brisket with barbecue sauce and brownies (cannabis-free). There’s also the ‘mac and yellow’ mac and cheese, which clearly utilizes Khalifa’s 2010 hit song “Black And Yellow.”

Los Angeles Daily News reports that HotBox by Wiz will be available via apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash, Postmates and Grubhub. Outside of LA, HotBox by Wiz also plans to operate in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Denver, Washington, D.C., Indianapolis, Houston, and New York City.

According to Urban Dictionary, the term “hotbox” refers to utilizing “an air-tight room or vehicle that contains one or more pot-smokers smoking one or more joints. The exhaled smoke and the smoke coming from the joint, unable to escape, circulates and thus is breathed in and is not wasted.”

• Rapper Wiz Khalifa opens HotBox delivery-only restaurant in Los Angeles [Daily News]