A Minneapolis-based workflow app, co-founded by former Spoon & Stable chef James Passafaro, recently secured an investment from a Florida human relations services firm, anticipating broader national reach.
Opsi, a cloud-based platform that aims to help chefs streamline their culinary operations, received the investment from Winter Park, Fla.-based Anthros Inc., according to the announcement made Monday. The amount of the investment was not disclosed.
With the investment, the platform will be able to tap into Anthros’ clientele base, which includes restaurants across 42 states, as it is added to the Florida firm’s suite of offerings, Anthros CEO and Founder Anurag Dandiya, said in an interview.
Dandiya led the investment and is acting as an adviser to Opsi, the announcement said.
Founded in 2019 by Passafaro and a product manager for tech startups, Matt Luckey, Opsi gives chefs a way to manage their recipes and prep lists, while also offering a communications channel for team members, according to its website.
The idea for Opsi came while Passafaro was working at a restaurant in San Francisco, where he became “frustrated with the lack of tech in the kitchen” and was relying on clipboards and binders, he said.
“I felt compelled to do something and make something,” he said. “... We're trying to produce something that's from the perspective of people that are in those positions, doing those jobs and creating those solutions for them.”
In a culinary role, Passafaro served from 2018 to 2022 as chef de cuisine at Minneapolis' Spoon & Stable, owned by James Beard-award-winning chef Gavin Kaysen
Passafaro incubated and tested Opsi’s platform at Spoon & Stable for years before going full-time on the company in 2022, according to the press release.
Looking ahead, Opsi plans to continue to broaden its scope, attract new customers and connect with chefs and operators to further develop the platform, Passafaro said.
Opsi currently serves about 40 clients across about 10 states, Passafaro said. He declined to disclose revenue figures but did say the company is currently in a pre-seed funding round.
