Enlightened Hospitality Investments

What Enlightened Hospitality Investments does

Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI) is a private growth equity fund founded in 2016 and affiliated with Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG). The firm makes flexible, generally non-control growth equity investments of $15–30 million in two target segments: people-driven hospitality operators (multi-location restaurants, cafés, ice cream, cookies, experiential retail) with at least 15–20 locations in multiple markets, and restaurant technology and consumer product companies generating at least $5 million in revenue with a clear path to sustainable profitability. EHI has deployed capital across two fund vehicles — Fund I (approximately $200 million) and Fund II ($332 million closed January 2022 above its $300 million target) — into 22+ portfolio companies spanning hospitality, restaurant technology, and consumer brands, with realized exits including Resy (acquired by American Express in 2019), BentoBox (acquired by Fiserv), Tripleseat (General Atlantic, 2023), SevenRooms (agreed acquisition by DoorDash, 2025), and Clear (IPO).

EHI's core offering is not a technology product but a capital-plus-operational-partnership model: in addition to equity capital, the firm provides portfolio companies with strategic direction (consumer insights, market research, site selection), operational support (lease negotiations, systems development, international licensing), marketing and PR collaboration, and talent/culture resources, anchored by direct access to USHG's restaurants as both customers and high-credibility references. EHI is co-led by Managing Partners Danny Meyer, Mark Leavitt, and Pete Mavrovitis, supported by a roughly 10-person team including a Partner, a Principal, a CFO, a VP, two Investment Associates, and a Chief of Staff. The fund's go-to-market is relationship-driven and inbound, anchored by USHG's industry network, the EHI Limited Partner base, and an annual Community of Companies Summit that fosters cross-portfolio collaboration. Revenue is generated through management fees on committed and invested capital plus carried interest on fund returns; LPs include institutional investors, college endowments, strategic investors, and family offices.

Name

Enlightened Hospitality Investments

Legal name

Enlightened Hospitality Investments

Website

https://ehi.fund

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Enlightened Hospitality Investments is a 2016-founded, USHG-affiliated growth equity fund that makes $15–30 million non-control investments in hospitality operators, restaurant technology, and consumer brands, with 22+ portfolio companies and realized exits including Resy and SevenRooms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Growth Equity Investment Fund

NAICS

Other Financial Vehicles (52599)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

ESG Integration / Responsible Investment Funds (Broad ESG) (FSANAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Private Sector & Blended Finance Arms (IFC-type) (BPADACAJ)

Keywords

• Growth equity investing
• Hospitality investment fund
• Restaurant technology investing
• Consumer brand investment
• Minority growth capital

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Investment capital and returns: EHI invests fund capital (Fund I and Fund II) in exchange for equity stakes in portfolio companies. Returns are generated through long-term capital appreciation, exits via IPO or strategic acquisition (e.g., Resy acquired by American Express, Tripleseat acquired by General Atlantic, BentoBox acquired by Fiserv, SevenRooms acquired by DoorDash, Clear acquired), and ongoing portfolio dividends. Fund II closed at $332M above its $300M target.
2. Management and performance fees: As a private growth equity fund manager, EHI earns management fees on committed and invested capital from Limited Partners, plus carried interest on fund returns. Limited Partners include institutional investors, college endowments, strategic investors, and family offices.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI) operates as a growth equity fund that makes flexible, generally non-control investments of $15-30 million in people-first companies across hospitality, food and beverage, and restaurant technology sectors. The firm manages two fund vehicles (Fund I ~$200M and Fund II at $332M closed in January 2022) and provides portfolio companies with strategic direction, operational expertise, USHG network access, and brand-building support beyond capital.

Product overview

Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI) is a growth equity investment firm, not a traditional software product company. Its core offering consists of two growth equity funds — Fund I (initial ~$200M) and Fund II ($332M closed January 2022 above its $300M target) — that make flexible, generally non-control investments of $15-30 million in people-first companies across hospitality, food & beverage, and adjacent technology sectors. EHI's portfolio is the principal substance of its "product," organized around two pillars: (1) consumer-facing restaurant and CPG brands — including Oats Overnight, Culture Pop, Five Iron Golf, Joe Coffee Company, Salt & Straw, Goldbelly, Banza, Madison Reed, Studs, Dig, Tacombi, Chip City Cookies, and Restaurant Technologies, Inc.; and (2) technology platforms that modernize hospitality operations — including Qu POS (unified commerce platform), Blink (frontline employee experience with AI insights), SevenRooms (guest experience & retention, acquired by DoorDash), ConverseNow (voice AI for drive-thru and phone orders), PreciTaste (Vision AI for kitchen optimization), NotCo (AI-driven plant-based food formulations), 7shifts (restaurant labor management), BentoBox (restaurant websites, acquired by Fiserv), Tripleseat (event management with embedded payments, now majority Vista Equity Partners), Resy (reservations, acquired by American Express), Clear (identity/biometrics, including Health Pass), and withco (small-business commercial real estate ownership). Several "Realized" exits (Resy, BentoBox, SevenRooms, Tripleseat) reflect EHI's lifecycle approach. The firm, founded 2016 and based at 853 Broadway, 17th Floor, NYC, is co-founded and led by Managing Partners Danny Meyer, Mark Leavitt, and Pete Mavrovitis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Enlightened Hospitality Investments Fund II Second growth equity fund vehicle of EHI, closed January 2022 at $332M above its $300M target. Makes flexible, generally non-control growth equity investments of $15-30 million in people-first companies across hospitality, food and beverage, and adjacent restaurant technology sectors. Available exclusively to qualified limited partner investors.
• Enlightened Hospitality Investments Fund I Initial growth equity fund vehicle of EHI with approximately $200M in capital, used to make early investments in Joe Coffee, Salt & Straw, Goldbelly, Resy, Dig Inn, BentoBox, and others. Investments typically ranged from $10M-$20M per deal.
• EHI Investor Portal (Altareturn) Private investor portal provided to EHI's limited partners for fund reporting, capital account access, and document distribution. Hosted on the Altareturn platform and linked from the EHI website.

Quantifiable outcome

• $332 million Fund II capital commitments closed above $300M target in January 2022
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers25 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability15 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSHG is the parent affiliation of EHI; Danny Meyer founded USHG in 1985 and it comprises award-winning NYC restaurants including Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, The Modern, Ci Siamo, Daily Provisions, and more. EHI leverages USHG's operating expertise, restaurant footprint as customer/test-bed, and senior team (Mark Leavitt serves on USHG board) to support portfolio companies. EHI is described on the About page as 'a growth equity fund affiliated with USHG.'
• Shake Shack (NYSE: SHAK)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerShake Shack is a related entity founded by Danny Meyer in 2004 and operates as an independently traded public company since 2015. USHG operates Shake Shack-adjacent ecosystem and the relationship provides strategic credibility, retail customer access, and operational benchmarking opportunities for EHI portfolio companies.
• Square (Block, Inc.)coreTechnology or IntegrationSquare's all-in-one restaurant platform (POS, loyalty, labor management, back-of-house insights) is used by EHI portfolio company Chip City Cookies across 50+ locations in nine states, helping Chip City scale operations and supporting its $17.5M raise from EHI.
• Chase (JPMorgan Chase)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerJPMorgan Chase partnered with EHI portfolio company Joe Coffee Company in December 2019, opening a Joe Coffee café inside a new Chase Bank branch at 116 West 16th Street in NYC. The idea originated with Danny Meyer after running into JPMorgan Chase CEO James Dimon at the 2017 U.S. Open.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• KKR: Diversified global PE giant with dedicated restaurant and consumer platform (e.g., Restaurant Brands International, Heartland Food Products). Comparable sector exposure at far larger scale and primarily control orientation.
• Roark Capital: Atlanta-based PE firm focused on franchise and multi-brand restaurant/restaurant-adjacent businesses (Subway, Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Jimmy John's, Focus Brands). The most scaled sector peer to EHI in restaurant-focused private capital, though Roark pursues control buyouts rather than minority growth equity.

Direct peers

• Forerunner Ventures: Leading consumer-focused venture firm (early to growth stage) with portfolio overlap in restaurant-tech, CPG, and consumer brands. Comparable sector focus and NYC base.
• Brand Foundry Ventures: NYC consumer brand growth equity fund investing $5-25M in early-to-growth stage consumer brands. Directly comparable ticket size, vertical focus, and stage to EHI's growth equity mandate.
• Lerer Hippeau: NYC early-stage venture firm focused on consumer, media, and restaurant-tech companies. Co-invested with EHI in Resy's Series A (February 2017). Highly comparable thesis around consumer and restaurant-tech founders.
• Sonoma Brands Capital: Consumer/CPG growth equity firm that co-invested with EHI in Oats Overnight's $35M Series B. Comparable investment thesis in people-led, scalable consumer brands with strong retail momentum.
• Alliance Consumer Growth (ACG): New York-based consumer growth equity fund investing in high-growth consumer brands and tech-enabled consumer companies. Closely matches EHI's $15-30M growth equity check size and consumer/hospitality overlap.

Emerging players

• NewView Capital: Growth-stage venture and growth-equity firm founded by former NEA investors with a NYC presence. Comparable growth-stage consumer/tech mandate, though broader than hospitality-only focus.
• Base Ventures: NYC-based consumer and restaurant-tech focused seed/early growth fund. Comparable consumer/restaurant thesis though operating at earlier stage than EHI's growth equity mandate.
• Impatient Ventures: Consumer CPG-focused venture fund that co-invested with EHI in Oats Overnight's $35M Series B. Comparable consumer CPG focus at earlier stage than EHI's growth equity checks.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/enlightened-hospitality-investments

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments22 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Enlightened Hospitality Investments