Mabel Gray
Mabel Gray is a 43-seat chef-owned fine dining restaurant in Hazel Park, Michigan, founded by Chef James Rigato in 2015. It serves a seasonal $92 tasting menu sourced from local farms, with private events, in-home catering, and a Champagne Society membership.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersHazel Park, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Mabel Gray does
Mabel Gray is a privately held, chef-owned fine dining restaurant founded in 2015 by Chef James Rigato in Hazel Park, Michigan, a suburb 10 miles north of downtown Detroit. The restaurant occupies a repurposed cinder block building with a 43-seat main dining room, an exposed kitchen, a lively bar, and an attached private wine cave that accommodates up to 30 guests. It operates Tuesday through Saturday evenings, serving a seasonally rotating tasting menu priced at $92 per person with an optional $55 beverage pairing, and is sourced 100% from Chef Rigato's network of local farms, butchers, and foragers.
The business model is direct-to-consumer hospitality, with primary revenue from tasting menu covers and beverage pairings in the main dining room. Secondary revenue streams include private events in the wine cave and full restaurant buy-outs (up to 70 guests, $1K-$10K+ budgets), Chef-led in-home catering for up to 20 guests, gift cards sold through Toast Tab, and a recurring Champagne Society subscription via Substack that provides early access to wine events and special dinners. Reservations are managed through the Tock platform with a $25 non-refundable deposit per booking.
Mabel Gray has earned broad critical recognition, including 2025 Restaurant of the Year honors from both USA Today and Hour Detroit, James Beard Foundation semi-finalist nods for Best New Restaurant (2016) and Best Chef: Great Lakes (2017-2020), and features in the New York Times, Eater, and Detroit Free Press. The underlying technology stack is commodity hospitality SaaS — Tock for bookings, Toast Tab for gift cards, Substack for email, Google Analytics, and Google reCAPTCHA — with no proprietary systems, AI/ML capabilities, or disclosed funding. Chef Rigato remains actively involved in daily kitchen operations, positioning the restaurant as a chef-driven, experience-led destination rather than a scaled hospitality concept.
Mabel Gray firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Mabel Gray
- Legal name
- Mabel Gray
- Website
- https://mabelgraykitchen.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Mabel Gray is a 43-seat chef-owned fine dining restaurant in Hazel Park, Michigan, founded by Chef James Rigato in 2015. It serves a seasonal $92 tasting menu sourced from local farms, with private events, in-home catering, and a Champagne Society membership.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Mabel Gray industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Fine Dining Restaurant
- NAICS
- Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Caterers (722320), Special Food Services (7223)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Chef’s Table & Tasting Menu Restaurants (THAFACAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Fine Dining Restaurants (THAFACAA), Private Culinary Experiences (Chef’s Table, Home Dining, Market-to-Meal) (THAJALAH), Beverage Services (Bar Catering, Mixology, Beverage Programs) (THAHAKAJ), Exclusive Dining Access & Chef’s Table Reservations (HSACAMAJ)
Keywords
Where Mabel Gray is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hazel Park
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Mabel Gray business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Dine-In Tasting Menu: The restaurant generates primary revenue through a fixed-price tasting menu served in the 43-seat dining room. The menu rotates seasonally based on local farm availability with no set menu—everything is handmade from scratch.
- Beverage Pairing: Optional beverage pairing complementing the tasting menu at $55 per person.
- Private Events: Revenue from hosting private events including wine cave reservations, full buy-outs, and in-home catering by Chef James. Events range from communal dining to fully private experiences with minimum spend requirements.
- Champagne Society Membership: Newsletter subscription providing members early access to wine events and special dinners, generating engagement and repeat visits.
- Gift Cards: Gift card sales through Toast Tab platform.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Chef's Tasting Menu with optional beverage pairing |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Private event tiers based on guest count and exclusivity level |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | In-home catering by Chef James |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Mabel Gray product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Mabel Gray operates a 43-seat fine dining restaurant serving a seasonal, chef-driven tasting menu at $92 per person with an optional $55 beverage pairing. The restaurant also hosts private events in a 30-guest wine cave, full dining room buyouts for 70 guests, in-home catering, and a Champagne Society membership program, complemented by gift card sales.
Product overview
Mabel Gray is a single fine dining restaurant offering a unified hospitality experience centered on its seasonally rotating tasting menu. The core product is the restaurant itself (Mabel Gray Kitchen), complemented by add-on offerings including beverage pairings, the Champagne Society membership program, and private event spaces. Private dining options include the wine cave (up to 30 guests) and full restaurant buy-outs (up to 70 guests), while in-home catering extends the restaurant experience to off-site events. All food and beverage offerings are handmade from scratch using ethically sourced, locally procured ingredients.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Champagne Society: A secret champagne society offering early access to wine events and special dinners.
Products and services
- Seasonal Tasting Menu
Quantifiable outcome
- 43-seat capacity generates consistent demand with reservations required for peak dining times
Companies that use Mabel Gray
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Mabel Gray technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Mabel Gray partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Mabel Gray competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- San Morello: Detroit Italian restaurant at the Shinola Hotel with seasonal wood-fired cuisine. Comparable Detroit fine dining competitor within the same buyer pool and destination dining segment.
- Marrow: Detroit butcher shop and restaurant highlighting whole-animal, seasonal cooking. Comparable in menu philosophy, local sourcing focus, and Detroit craft-dining positioning.
- The Apparatus Room: Detroit fine dining restaurant inside the Shinola Hotel, offering seasonal contemporary menus. Comparable Detroit-based, hotel-restaurant-adjacent fine dining experience with strong bar/beverage program.
- Selden Standard: Detroit-area chef-driven restaurant emphasizing seasonal, locally-sourced cuisine. Closest geographic peer with a similar farm-to-table, scratch-made ethos in the Michigan dining market.
- Gold Cash Gold: Detroit neighborhood restaurant with seasonal, locally-driven menu. Comparable in Detroit culinary scene positioning, scratch preparation, and local sourcing emphasis.
- Oriole: Chicago tasting menu restaurant with chef-driven execution and seasonal sourcing. Comparable Midwest two-Michelin-star style tasting menu experience and destination dining positioning.
- Lady of the House: Detroit fine dining restaurant focused on thoughtful, seasonal cuisine with chef-driven execution. Operates in the same Detroit metro culinary ecosystem and competes for destination diners.
Broad incumbents
- The French Laundry: Yountville, California destination tasting menu restaurant and benchmark for chef-driven American fine dining. Comparable in fixed-price tasting menu model, reservation-driven demand, and chef-as-brand positioning.
- Alinea: Chicago-based tasting menu restaurant and one of the most recognized chef-driven fine dining institutions in the U.S. Comparable in chef's tasting menu format, multi-course fixed-price structure, and elevated beverage pairings.
Regional players
- Spencer: Ann Arbor chef-driven restaurant emphasizing seasonal, locally-sourced Midwestern cuisine. Comparable in Michigan farm-to-table ethos and regional fine dining positioning about an hour from Mabel Gray.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Mabel Gray social profiles
Digital presenceMabel Gray financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Mabel Gray leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Mabel Gray funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Mabel Gray M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Mabel Gray
What does Mabel Gray do?
Mabel Gray operates a 43-seat fine dining restaurant serving a seasonal, chef-driven tasting menu at $92 per person with an optional $55 beverage pairing. The restaurant also hosts private events in a 30-guest wine cave, full dining room buyouts for 70 guests, in-home catering, and a Champagne Society membership program, complemented by gift card sales.
Is Mabel Gray a public or private company?
Mabel Gray is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Mabel Gray founded?
Mabel Gray was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Mabel Gray based?
Mabel Gray is headquartered in Hazel Park, United States, in the North America region.
How does Mabel Gray make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Dine-In Tasting Menu is the primary driver. The others are beverage Pairing, private Events, champagne Society Membership and gift Cards.
Who are Mabel Gray's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are San Morello, Marrow, The Apparatus Room, Selden Standard, Gold Cash Gold, Oriole and Lady of the House. Broad incumbents are The French Laundry and Alinea. Spencer is listed as a regional player.
Does Mabel Gray have an API?
No public API is recorded for Mabel Gray.
What industry is Mabel Gray in?
Mabel Gray's product category is Fine Dining Restaurant. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFACAG, Chef’s Table & Tasting Menu Restaurants, with a secondary code of THAFACAA, Fine Dining Restaurants. Its NAICS code is 722511 and its SIC code is 5810.