Investment

Front of house staff member using SevenRooms
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

EHI and Danny Meyer Invest in SevenRooms

EHI and Danny Meyer Invest in SevenRooms

by David Klemt

Front of house staff member using SevenRooms

SevenRooms is showing no signs of resting on their laurels, announcing a major new investor: Enlightened Hospitality Investments.

EHI, a private-equity fund, traces its launch back to 2016. The fund, launched by and affiliated with Union Square Hospitality Group, typically makes investments in the $10-25 million range. Generally speaking, EHI makes non-control investments.

As you’re likely well aware, USHG’s founder and executive chairman is none other than restaurateur Danny Meyer. The Shake Shack chairman is also the managing partner of EHI.

Investment in SevenRooms by EHI—and by extension Danny Meyer—is huge news. Meyer now joins other high-profile chef and restaurateur investors in SevenRooms:

“At EHI, we always pay close attention to transformative tech that advances high touch,” says Meyer. “Far more than a reservations platform, SevenRooms provides abundant tools to create highly customized guest experiences and equips both restaurant and hotel teams to do what they do best—deliver truly memorable hospitality.”

Continual Growth

Since 2011, SevenRooms has pursued growth while serving the hospitality industry.

Whether in terms of innovation, partnerships, appointing the right people to key roles, or attracting investors, the platform is constantly strategizing to ensure its longevity.

Just look at what the company has achieved over 24 months:

  • March 2021: SevenRooms appoints Pamela Martinez as the company’s chief financial officer.
  • September 2021: SevenRooms announces a multi-year partnership with TheFork. The partnership is big news for operators throughout Europe and Australia. Further, the partnership illustrates how the company is pursuing global growth.
  • October of 2021: The company forms a partnership with Olo. This ensures clients who also use Olo are able to capture data from a key group: off-premise customers. That data creates profiles for such customers automatically. That means operators can learn more about—and effectively market to—customers who engage with them via online orders.
  • December 2021: SevenRooms and ThinkFoodGroup—the hospitality company behind Chef José Andrés’ portfolio of restaurants—make their partnership public. Interestingly, this partnership also includes ThinkFoodGroup joining SevenRooms in an advisory role.
  • January 2022: The platform announces the hiring of a chief revenue officer, Brent-Stig Kraus.
  • December 2022: SevenRooms enters into a partnership with Competitive Social Ventures.
  • January 2023: The company announces the appointment of their first-ever chief marketing officer.

As our industry rapidly attracts tech platforms and innovations, it can be difficult to know which companies are here to stay.

The growth of SevenRooms shows stability and longevity. Those are two key factors that should inform operator decisions when considering the tech stack.

Image: SevenRooms

Try the free KRG Hospitality Bar & Restaurant Start-up Calculator, rectangle
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Introducing the KRG Start-up Calculator

Introducing the KRG Bar & Restaurant Start-up Calculator

by David Klemt

The KRG Hospitality Bar & Restaurant Start-up Calculator banner

We are incredibly excited to announce the launch of a helpful new tool for new and veteran operators alike: the KRG Hospitality Bar & Restaurant Start-up Calculator.

It couldn’t be simpler to use, and it will give users an idea of how much funding their project will require.

Just enter the square footage you desire or that you know you’ll need. Then, our brand-new calculator generates more than 40 key costs for your review.

Know Your Numbers

New or veteran, single unit or multi, success in this business requires an obsessive knowledge of numbers.

Costs, in particular, are operators’ eternal opponents. People incur the greatest costs before they ever open their doors for business.

Now, that’s just common sense on one hand. Securing a location, kitting out a kitchen, building out the front of house—these are five-, six- and sometimes even seven-figure endeavors.

However, on the other hand, the massive costs that come with opening a new restaurant or bar are often the result of surprises or insufficient planning.

That’s where our calculator comes in.

Here to Help

There’s a reason that the KRG Bar & Restaurant Start-up Calculator populates more than 40 fields.

That reason is simple: preparation is key.

For instance, does your current plan budget for utility deposits, business insurances, opening F&B inventory, soft opening and launch month strategies, the complete array of construction or renovation costs?

Here’s a real-world example of our calculator at work:

Let’s say you want to open a 2,200-square-foot pub. At the minimum, you should budget at least $2,547 for business insurances and nearly $8,200 for opening F&B inventory. And you’ll likely want to set aside at least $14,806 for emergencies.

Try it out for yourself today!

Disclaimer

As with any online calculator, this free calculator is to be used as an initial reference point. Every project is unique in its own way. Property and leasing costs, equipment, and renovation costs will heavily fluctuate based on market, concept, and the status/condition of a chosen property.

Image: KRG Hospitality

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