How the Pandemic Has Given Rise to Virtual Restaurants in Chicago

Instagram isn’t immune to the public health crisis: The halcyon days of scrolling through food porn have disappeared as indoor dining restrictions have kept diners at home. As many influencers have quieted their accounts, a corps of cooks and entrepreneurs in Chicago have seized the opportunity to use the platforms to introduce their pop-ups to a crop of new customers.

In the past, chefs like Jasmine Sheth may have used social media to generate awareness of their businesses. But now, the Instagram page for Sheth’s Tasting India — her Andersonville ghost kitchen — links to a Google document where its weekly menu can be viewed, and she uses the page to communicate directly with and take orders from customers. “The pandemic has changed everything,” she says. “Nothing is the same as it was before.”