86 Repairs, a Chicago startup working to simplify equipment repairs for restaurants, has raised new funding as it scales its subscription service.
The company announced Thursday that it closed a $2 million seed round of funding from TDF Ventures, HAVI, Gordon Food Service and Cleveland Avenue, a VC firm from former McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson that just raised a $70 million fund to invest in Chicago companies owned by Black, Latinx and women entrepreneurs.
Other investors in the round include GHS Holdings, Tamarind Hill, Invest Detroit Ventures and Network Ventures.
To date, 86 Repairs has raised $3.5 million. It raised a $1.5 million round in 2019 and was one of Chicago Inno’s 21 Startups to Watch in 2021.
The new funding will be used for product development and to scale the 86 Repairs platform to more restaurant groups.
Founded in 2018 by Daniel Estrada and Joe Gallagher, 86 Repairs has created a subscription service that manages repairs for restaurant groups. The platform helps restaurants troubleshoot issues, schedule a repair, and track how much they're spending on equipment maintenance.
86 Repairs will coordinate all aspects of the repair process, dispatching someone from its authorized service network or from the restaurant's preferred vendor list, who can repair items like ovens and HVAC systems to walk-in freezers.
Named after the term used in the food service industry to describe something that's no longer on the menu, 86 Repairs says it has partnered with more than 700 restaurant locations and has saved them a combined $1.7 million.
In 2020, 86 Repairs said it saw its business grow by 93%. Current clients include 4 Rivers Smokehouse, Peas and Carrots Hospitality and operators of brands like McDonald's, Jimmy John's and Sonic Drive-Ins.
"Restaurants have faced immense challenges since the start of the pandemic. Keeping kitchens up and running is essential to bouncing back, but too often it's an expensive and time-consuming headache," Estrada said in a statement. "Our secret sauce has been to create efficiencies, synthesize data and reduce costs.”
