The eatertainment world is showing signs of trouble, and yet new concepts keep launching. And, at least for now, investors keep investing in them.
Home Run Dugout, an Austin, Texas-based eatertainment concept with an indoor soft-toss baseball theme, on Monday announced a $22.5 million Series A funding round led by Lagniappe Capital Partners, which is also a minority investor in the growing golf-themed concept Puttshack.
The funding will support Home Run Dugout’s plans for growth, including new locations coming to San Antonio and Scottsdale, Arizona—the latter being the concept’s first outside Texas. The concept’s location in Houston is also being expanded, and the company is planning to hire key executives, pursue licensing and other new locations.
Co-founded by Nick Hermandorfer and Tyler Bambrick, the first Home Run Dugout opened in Round Rock, Texas, in the minor league stadium Dell Diamond in 2019, with strategic investors Nolan Ryan and Ryan Sanders Baseball. The concept features patented Batting Bays, where guests of all skill levels can practice their home run hits in a cage-free setting with augmented reality in a simulated stadium.
Brian McGuire, lead investor and founder of Lagniappe Capital Partners, said the Batting Bays generate three times the revenue of an average Topgolf bay.
“Hitting a baseball is one of the hardest, most intimidating things in sports,” he said in a statement. “Home Run Dugout gives everyone the chance to hit a home run by gamifying the batting experience and delivering a soft-toss pitch that removes all barriers, even the cage and helmet.”
The first scalable standalone model opened last year in Katy, Texas, outside Houston, featuring a full-service restaurant, multiple bars and corporate event space. Houston has 22 Batting Bays, but the plans for Scottsdale and San Antonio will be bigger.
A rendering of the location to come in Scottsdale, Arizona. | Image courtesy of HFA Architecture + Engineering.
The new units will be about 65,000-square-feet with 34 Batting Bays, and a signature Biergarten Baseball mini-field with a restaurant and three bars.
“Hitting a home run is an unmatched experience, whether you’re an athlete or not,” said Bambrick, Home Run Dugout’s CEO, in a statement. “We’re absolutely thrilled to continue our mission of creating that experience for as many people as possible.”
The funding round comes just weeks after the announcement that another baseball-themed eatertainment concept, Batbox, closed on a $7.3 million Series A funding round. A 14-unit chain in Mexico, Batbox is planning U.S. expansion with support from Chicago-based Emerging Fund. At Batbox, batters hit a real ball (though a bit spongier) in a 38-foot batting cage.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.