ZINC

What ZINC does

ZINC New Haven is a privately held, single-location fine dining restaurant founded in 1999 by Denise Appel and Donna Curran at 964 Chapel Street in downtown New Haven, Connecticut, across from the Historic New Haven Green. The restaurant operates on a 'locally driven, globally inspired' concept, serving lunch (Tuesday-Saturday 11:30am-2pm), dinner (Tuesday-Saturday 5pm-10pm), and a Happy Hour (Tuesday-Friday 4:30pm-6pm) with a globally influenced menu including shareables, small/medium/large plates, and a prix fixe structure. The wine program has earned the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, and the bar program spans cocktails ($8-22), beer, and zero-proof options.

Revenue is generated through four main streams: à la carte lunch and dinner service, three-course prix fixe menus ($47 lunch / $75 dinner), a personalized five-course tasting menu ($130 with pairings, $90 without), and private events. Private events span three venue tiers — a Private Dining Room (up to 30 guests), the Garden Room & Patio (up to 54 seated / 70 standing), and full-restaurant buyout (up to 90 seated / 100 standing) — covering rehearsal dinners, weddings, corporate functions, and celebrations. Gift cards are sold digitally through the Toast Tab platform and accepted at affiliated concepts. The restaurant is privately held with no institutional investors and has been owned by local entrepreneur and philanthropist Alexander Clark since 2022, with day-to-day operations led by General Manager Sean D'Addio, Executive Chef Joe Roberto, and Special Events and Hospitality Manager Emily Dokas.

The business operates as a single-site restaurant with 11-50 employees, with no geographic expansion, franchise activity, or external funding disclosed in the available data. Marketing is digital-first through the company's Squarespace website (zincnewhaven.com), email newsletter signup, and third-party reservation and gift card platforms. The technology footprint is minimal: no mobile app, no API integrations, and no proprietary software beyond standard restaurant operations tooling.

Name

ZINC

Website

https://zincnewhaven.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ZINC is a privately held, single-location fine dining restaurant in downtown New Haven, Connecticut, founded in 1999. It serves locally-driven, globally-inspired lunch and dinner menus, an award-winning wine and cocktail program, and hosts private events for up to 100 guests.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fine Dining Restaurant

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Fine Dining Restaurants (THAFACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Farm-to-Table & Contemporary American Restaurants (THAFACAF)

Keywords

• Fine dining restaurant
• Private event catering
• Prix fixe menu
• Wine and cocktails
• Locally sourced cuisine

Headquarters

HQ city

New Haven

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ZINC New Haven operates a full-service fine dining restaurant in downtown New Haven offering locally-driven cuisine with global inspiration. The core service includes lunch, dinner, and happy hour service, complemented by a cocktail program, an award-winning wine list, and customizable private event hosting across multiple venue spaces (Private Dining Room, Garden Room & Patio, and full-restaurant buyouts).

Product overview

ZINC is a New Haven landmark restaurant founded in 1999, offering a unified dining experience centered on locally-driven cuisine with global inspiration. The core product is the full-service restaurant providing lunch, dinner, and happy hour services. Supplementary offerings include Private Events & Private Dining with multiple venue options, a Prix Fixe Menu program, and a Personalized Tasting Menu experience. The beverage program encompasses specialty cocktails, an award-winning wine list, and draft and bottled beer. Gift cards are available through an e-gift card platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Restaurant Dining Service Full-service fine dining experience featuring locally-driven cuisine with global inspiration, including seasonal menus of shareables, small plates, medium plates, large plates, and desserts, plus a specialty cocktail and award-winning wine program. Targeted at general diners in the New Haven area seeking celebratory and special-occasion meals.
• Private Events & Private Dining Bookable private event service for weddings, corporate functions, birthdays, and social gatherings with multiple venue configurations and customizable prix fixe and tasting menu options. Contact: Emily Dokas at [email protected] or (203) 624-0507.
• Gift Cards

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Olives & Oil Restaurant: Olives & Oil is a downtown New Haven Mediterranean-influenced fine dining concept with a prix fixe structure and private event capabilities. It overlaps with ZINC's globally-inspired menu positioning and similar price points.
• Heirloom at The Study Hotel: Heirloom is a New Haven farm-to-table fine dining restaurant located within The Study Hotel. It competes head-to-head for the locally-sourced, upscale New Haven dining dollar and shares ZINC's locally-driven positioning.
• The Wharf: The Wharf is a New Haven fine dining institution operating a similar chef-driven, locally-sourced, globally-influenced model at comparable price points. Both concepts target occasion diners and corporate clientele in downtown New Haven with full bar and wine programs.
• Union League Cafe: Union League Cafe is a New Haven fine dining restaurant and appears to share ownership/operational overlap with ZINC (gift cards are accepted at both locations per the ZINC data). It is the most directly comparable peer by virtue of co-marketing and adjacent brand relationship.
• Roia Restaurant & Lounge: Roia is a New Haven fine dining restaurant with a seasonally rotating, locally-sourced menu and private dining/event capabilities. It directly competes for the same downtown New Haven occasion-dining customer base with similar chef-driven positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Restaurant Nora: Restaurant Nora is a benchmark American farm-to-table fine dining concept in Washington DC. It serves as a comparable benchmark for the locally-sourced, globally-inspired independent fine dining model that ZINC embodies.
• Gramercy Tavern: Gramercy Tavern is a landmark Danny Meyer-owned American fine dining restaurant in NYC known for seasonal, locally-sourced cuisine and a multi-tiered dining format (tavern + dining room). It is comparable to ZINC as a long-tenured, chef-driven fine dining institution.
• Barcelona Wine Bar: Barcelona Wine Bar is a multi-location regional Spanish/Mediterranean tapas and wine concept with Connecticut locations. It is a broader incumbent that overlaps ZINC's globally-inspired cuisine and award-caliber wine program, though it operates at a more casual price point across a multi-site footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/zincnewhaven

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about ZINC