Dallas, TX-based startup OneDine has closed a $5 million funding round with a pre-money valuation of $90 million for its front-of-house restaurant tech platform. The new funding came from “a private family trust” along with participation from TMW Capital and Hidden Lake Asset Management of New York.
OneDine founder and CEO Rom Krupp told The Dallas Morning News last week that his company will use the money to “staff into fulfillment.” OneDine plans to grow its staff from 24 to 100 persons by the end of the year to help meet the growing demand for the product, which currently serves over 60 brands and has a waiting list of others lining up to implement the technology.
The solution itself is a SaaS-based platform that lets customers with a OneDine app and profile check in to the restaurant, set dietary preferences and restrictions, order from a digital menu, and pay at the table, all from their own mobile device. Guests can also receive customized recommendations and fill out post-meal surveys. The platform integrates with restaurants’ POS systems so that businesses don’t have to do a major tech overhaul in order to incorporate the technology into their day-to-day operations.
OneDine told The Dallas Morning News that restaurants using the platform can operate with 20 percent less waitstaff. At a time when restaurants are facing a labor shortage and turnover is high, being able to automate certain front-of-house costs is something many restaurants are looking into.
“Labor has never had so many options as they do now and the industry has to change because of that to stay relevant,” Rajat Suri, CEO of restaurant-tech company Presto, told us last year. Like OneDine, Presto makes a front-of-house-focused tech solution that automates certain tasks, including the order and pay process for guests. Toast, Square, and many others are also automating the front of house.
For its part, OneDine says it plans to hire support and client fulfillment staff as well as expand across the U.S. in the coming months.
