Workforce technology company 7shifts raised $21.5 million in a funding round led by the investment arm of Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG).
The company that helps restaurants handle things like scheduling and staff communication has been adding clients in record numbers coming out of the pandemic, the company said in a press release. USHG has been using 7shifts in its restaurants that include Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Cafe with such success that its investment arm, Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI), decided to take a stake in the company.
“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,” said Danny Meyer, founder and CEO of USHG and co-founder and managing partner of EHI.
EHI led the Series B round and will get a seat on 7shifts' board of directors. Existing investors Ten Coves Capital, Relay Ventures and Conexus Venture Capital also contributed.
7shifts said it would use the funding to grow its staff, expand its existing products and develop new ones.
“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,” said Jordan Boesch, CEO of 7shifts.
Labor is at a premium right now as restaurants struggle to hire post-pandemic. In addition to adding more workers, many are looking to maximize the staff they do have through technology like 7shifts and other solutions such as automation or AI that save time and labor.
7shifts was founded in Saskatoon, Canada, in 2014 and now works with more than 18,000 restaurants worldwide. It has offices in Toronto and New Jersey.
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