Snagging a last-minute reservation at one of Boston’s best restaurants on a bumping Friday night can seem impossible. Local startup SoonSpoon, however, seeks to make that process painless by publishing a continuously updated list of last-minute reservation cancellations at over a dozen top spots in town.
We wrote about the SoonSpoon's plans back in January, but now the startup is ready to launch its service. If everything goes as planned, you'll be able to start dashing to dine as early as Wednesday.
Founders (and foodies) Travis Lowry and Conor Clary officially started working full time on the project last October before finalizing their angel round in early December. Prior to SoonSpoon, Lowry and Clary were working on a different venture called Outgrade, that mapped LGBTQ-friendly businesses, places and people in Boston. The young entrepreneurs and Tufts grads shuttered the startup last summer, and began brainstorming business ideas before settling on one that’s appealing to bellies and pocketbooks alike.
Here’s how it works: SoonSpoon charges different eateries a fee for each seat they successfully fill. The per seat fee, however, is negotiated upfront with the resto, and it’s constant. This means a singular diner sipping solely martinis brings in the same amount as someone who selects a three-course steak dinner. Rather, Lowry explained via email, “the fees correspond to general check averages ... So, more expensive restaurants pay higher fees per seat than less expensive restaurants.”
We asked Lowry to answer a few questions via email on SoonSpoon and the startup’s future, not to mention the fateful muse of a meal that wasn’t at Strip-T’s and the founder’s favorite dishes. Take a look at the answers below, and sign up here for SoonSpoon!
BostInno How did you come up with idea for SoonSpoon?
Travis Lowry: I made a reservation at Strip-T's in Watertown for six at 7 p.m. on a Friday several weeks ahead of time. The other diners' flight was canceled and I had to cancel my reservation the day of. I felt awful because I love T's and I knew I had burnt them. That restaurant is tiny and the menu changes nearly every day, it’s really amazing.
No one was going to come calling for such a prime table at the last minute because everyone knows that restaurant books full far in advance.I also knew they were not going to get six people just walking in together. Servers were going to miss those tips. That empty table was going to look bad. And I knew T's wasn't going to put that table on Groupon or Savored or Open Table's 1,000 point table – they don't actually even use OpenTable). T's doesn't need to incentivize diners to come in with cheesy discounts or perks. Whats more, I knew that diners at T's and other great restaurants don't care about 20 percent off an appetizer, they care about having a great dining experience. I quickly realized that there was a huge opportunity to help restaurants provide amazing hospitality for the spontaneous diners that love them.
So, which restaurants are you partnering with?
Currently, we are partnered with Farmstead Table, Puritan & Co., Journeyman, Tupelo, Stir, Menton, Clio, Uni, East by Northeast, Bergamot, L'Espalier, Bogies' Place, Casa B, Beacon Hill Bistro, Waban Kitchen, 51 Lincoln and we will be constantly expanding that list.
Now, which of those restaurants is your favorite?
Ha, I love all of our restaurants, no favorites here. How about this, of the season's current menus, I am really digging the following:
- A Dixie beer and an order of pickles at Tupelo is a great snack.
- Josh Lewin does some great BBQ on the bar menu at Beacon Hill Bistro (I'm Texan so thats a high compliment); the wine program at Clio is a constant pleasure.
- The foie gras terrine at Uni is world shattering.
- The cheese program at L'Espalier is always outstanding.
- And the Blood and Thistle at Bergamot is currently my go-to cocktail.
What's been the biggest challenge around starting SoonSpoon?
In all honesty, the first true challenge is going to be scaling without sacrificing our fanatical adherence to helping restaurants provide amazing hospitality for spontaneous diners. We are a hospitality company first, a startup second and a tech company third and that annoys a lot of startup-y people. Forget social media and awesome technology and apps and viral growth. Our core focus right now is helping restaurants provide simple, personal and serendipitous hospitality for the diners that want to eat great food at the very last minute.
What’s next for the startup?
In keeping with the restaurant analogy, SoonSpoon right now is basically a food truck: a light, basic idea, a proving ground for a core concept. In the fall, armed with the knowledge earned over spring and summer, we will raise another round, build a more expansive product and roll to other cities. But we will only do that once we are confident we have really tacked down the best solution to help both sides of our marketplace – small, creative restaurants and the spontaneous diners who love them.
