Saying restaurants will soon see explosion of hiring, Danny Meyer-affiliated fund invests in labor management platform 7shifts

New York City restaurateur Danny Meyer’s growth equity fund has led a $21.5 million investment in the labor management platform 7shifts, the company said Tuesday.

Enlightened Hospitality Investments, or EHI, the growth equity fund affiliated with Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, or USHG, was joined in the Series B funding round by existing investors Ten Coves Capital, Relay Ventures and Conexus Venture Capital.

For Meyer, whose USHG operates famed concepts such as Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Café, it follows a growing list of investments in technology and other companies that have become key to restaurant operations. The fund, for example, has invested in the ecommerce business Goldbelly, website designer BentoBox, reservation platform Resy, the booking site Tripleseat and the identity screening firm Clear.

USHG uses the 7shifts management system across its portfolio of restaurants, cafes and bars.

Under the deal, representation from EHI will be added to 7shifts’ board, the company said.

“The restaurant and hospitality industry is about to experience one of the biggest periods of growth and hiring we’ve ever seen, and having the right technology in place to manage this process will be a crucial component to succeed,” said Meyer, founder and CEO of USHG and a co-founder and managing partner of EHI, in a statement. “Our business leaders have been uniformly impressed and inspired by the staff management platform 7shifts has built, and we look forward to our work together to help further propel 7shifts into becoming our industry’s gold standard.”

7shifts plans to use the funding to scale and expand its product offering at a time when restaurants are struggling to rebuild their labor force after the devastating closures during the pandemic.

Founded in Canada in 2014, 7shifts — which has offices in Toronto and New Jersey — boasts a client list of about 18,000 restaurants across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia.

Jordan Boesch, CEO of 7shifts, said in a statement, “As the industry rebuilds, there has never been a more important time for restaurants to get more visibility into labor to improve long-term performance and profitability. Engaging with restaurant staff through data-driven, reliable shift scheduling will be critical to providing meaningful job satisfaction while simultaneously controlling costs, improving performance, and rebuilding the bottom line.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect reference to 7shifts' client list. 

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