Danny Meyer firm invests in Goldbelly

Enlightened Hospitality Investments, a fund founded by restaurateur Danny Meyer, led a $20 million second-round investment in Goldbelly, the online boutique restaurant delivery platform, the companies announced Tuesday.

The Series B investment includes existing investors in the San Francisco-based Goldbelly, including Intel Capital, 500 Startups and 645 Ventures. This second-round investment follows the Series A funding of $10 million led by the European investment firm Global Founders Capital and previous investor Intel Capital.

Goldbelly said the second-round funding would be used to expand its technology and operations teams in its newly opened New York City headquarters.

Goldbelly, founded in 2013 as Goldbely, uses its e-commerce technology and logistics to deliver food from 350 popular U.S. food makers, including: Milk Bar and Russ & Daughters in New York City; Gino’s East and Lou Malnati’s Pizza in Chicago; Pat’s King of Steaks and Tony Luke’s in Philadelphia; Prince’s Hot Chicken and Loveless Café in Nashville, Tenn.; Primanti Brothers and Pranti’s Bakery in Pittsburgh, Pa.; and The Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood, Texas.

“We are thrilled to partner with Danny and the team at EHI and to join their great portfolio of brands, [which] are unified by shared values of hospitality and a commitment to providing a stronger emotional connection to food,” said Joe Ariel, Goldbelly CEO and founder, in a statement.

“At Goldbelly, we believe that the country’s greatest foods are made by passionate regional food makers and artisans,” Ariel added. “We’ve created a platform to empower these iconic local brands to connect with food lovers across the country and look forward to enabling more people to enjoy these magical food experiences.”

Meyer, who founded the now publicly traded New York-based Shake Shack Inc. as well as the privately held Union Square Hospitality Group, said Enlighted Hospitality invests in “proven category disruptors and leaders, particularly when they merge technology with hospitality in a way that provides a unique and exceptional guest experience.” He serves as CEO of EHI.

Meyer, who will join Goldbelly’s advisory board, added that platform connects consumers with hometown restaurants that provide an emotional and nostalgic connection through an online marketplace.

“The culture that the team at Goldbelly has built around caring for their employees, customers and stakeholders mirrors the values we hold most important at Union Square Hospitality Group,” Meyer said in a statement.

Enlightened Hospitality Group, founded in October 2017, raised $220 million from USHG and third-party investors to invest in such companies as New York-based Joe Coffee, Portland, Ore.-based Salt & Straw and the New York-based Resy Network Inc. online reservations platform.

Goldbelly has a team of "food explorers" to search out unique foods from around the nation and deliver them to consumers.

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