![]() Gjonbalic was profiled as part of Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2020, just as ghost kitchens and delivery options were exploding as restaurants and hotels closed to in-person customers. While Butler’s fundraising paled in comparison to some of its ghost kitchen rivals - Reef has raised at least $1.5 billion according to CrunchBase - the company’s rapid growth and delivery-focused business model attracted press attention. None of Butler’s major investors have responded to requests for comment. Butler raised at least $50 million over its lifespan, from these and other investors. Scopus Ventures, a venture capital firm backing new software companies, also counted Butler in its portfolio. Doug Jacob, who co-founded &pizza with Lastoria, served as a board member for Butler, according to LinkedIn. The hotel ghost kitchen operator was also backed by &Vest, an investment firm co-founded by &pizza CEO Michael Lastoria. Last October, Butler raised more than $32 million in funding, from Shamrock Holdings, Maywic Select Investments and Mousse Partners Limited. As of June 17, front desk staff at the tower, 1250 Broadway, told Restaurant Dive that there was no tenant on the 10th floor. In July 2021, Butler signed a three-year sublease for the 10th floor in an office tower in Manhattan, according to Commercial Observer. Gjonbalic has not responded to attempts to contact him. Founder and CEO Premtim Gjonbalic celebrated the company’s expansion in the Chicago hotel market in a March LinkedIn post. Managers and foodservice directors from a number of hotels that served as hub kitchens for Butler did not respond to requests for comment.īutler’s closure seemed to come suddenly. Butler used its own delivery drivers to move food from hotel kitchens to guests, according to still extant job postings. Butler’s dissolution has left the Hyatt Place, and other hotels, short of foodservice options, according to conversations with front desk staff at several hotels in D.C. Butler delivered to the Hyatt between 10 and 20 orders a day, he said. Waseel said the order volume was typically low, but guests were usually happy with the service. According to a list compiled in March from Butler’s website, which is still up, the company served food in more than 408 hotels in at least 10 cities, from New York to San Francisco. In major cities, the company would prepare meals for delivery from a small number of hotel kitchens and send them out to partnering hotels. “They didn’t mention why.”īutler’s business model brought ghost kitchens to hotel foodservice. “In the morning, when I got here, we got an email that they wouldn't be serving this area anymore,” Waseel told Restaurant Dive in an interview. Butler sent the Hyatt Place an email early one morning, Waseel said, though he could not remember the exact date. Moh Waseel, front desk manager at the Hyatt Place Washington D.C./Georgetown/West End, which used Butler’s delivery service in lieu of room service, said the company stopped delivering in mid-May. Kara Mayle, Butler’s regional manager for Washington, D.C., also posted the company dissolved, while Fernando Arcieri, a customer success manager for Butler in Miami, said on LinkedIn the business had ceased its operations. “ As you have seen from various posts, Butler was dissolved yesterday,” Louati wrote. Former employees confirmed the company had shut down completely. Firas Louati, Butler’s head of transformation, wrote in a LinkedIn post on May 14 that the company shut down the previous day.
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