Byte Kitchen, a restaurant technology company that scales independent restaurants through Noshery digital food halls, announces today the closing of a $6 Million funding round and the opening of a second Noshery location in San Carlos, CA.
The round is led by Crosslink Capital, Emergent Ventures and Kevin Mahaffey, with participation from Correlation Ventures, Wndrco, Soma Capital, and Y Combinator. Multiple notable angel investors also participated, including Shawn Tsao (co-founder of Caviar), Bruce Dean (founder of Black Bear Diner), and Edna Morris (Former President of Red Lobster). The capital will be utilized to expand locations, invest further in technology, and grow the team.
Byte Kitchen’s mission is to empower independent restaurants to expand their footprint nationally without incurring capital investment or operational risk. By partnering with Byte Kitchen, restaurants unlock access to entirely new customer bases and additional revenue streams.
Since Byte Kitchen opened its first digital food hall in San Mateo, California in December, 2021, thousands of customers have eagerly embraced the menu selections from Noshery’s collection of restaurant partners. A family can now mix and match a plantain burrito, a hummus chicken bowl, and a cheeseburger for a single dinner, ensuring a seamless experience without added time, stress, or delivery fees. The resounding success of the first Noshery location with both restaurant partners and customers has led to quick expansion with the second location.
CEO of Byte Kitchen, Divyang Arora explains, “Independent restaurants are the heart of local communities, and we started Byte Kitchen to amplify their reach across the nation. However, in a market saturated with ghost kitchens and virtual brands, we believe product quality is what will win in the long run. At Byte Kitchen, we’re committed to upholding the trust of our restaurant partners, from faithfully executing their recipes to maintaining strong relationships with customers.”
Byte Kitchen freshly prepares menu items from eight different restaurant partners
currently in its Noshery food halls. Partners include local favorites from the Bay Area all the way to Nashville: Oren’s Hummus, The Little Chihuahua, the Melt, East Side Banh Mi, Kasa Indian Eatery, Curry House by Asian Box, The Pastry Cupboard, and Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream.
“We’ve loved partnering with Byte Kitchen in bringing The Melt to new customers. With their commitment to brand quality and recipe adherence, we trust the team to ensure best-in-class experiences that align with our company’s goal to ‘Deliver an I love it here experience to every customer.’ The Byte Kitchen model removes the capital risk and many of the challenges that come with opening new restaurants – enabling us to scale rapidly and efficiently,” says Sein Reiter, Director, Brand Revenue at The Melt.
With the recent round of funding, Byte Kitchen will continue to expand in California and beyond. Byte Kitchen was founded by Divyang Arora, Rahul Madadi, and Quinn McKenna. Divyang and Rahul bring years of rich experience in finance and technology, while Quinn is a long-time restaurant industry veteran, having led operations for The Lark Creek Restaurant Group and China Live.
