As Reserve has grown, we’ve attracted great people and great investors. Today our network is expanding in two significant ways — we’re announcing a strategic investment from Diageo, the global leader in beverage alcohol, and we’re acquiring Dash, a payments and data technology company with sophisticated Point of Sale integration capabilities.
Dash is Reserve’s fifth acquisition, and our third acquisition of a New York-based restaurant technology company.
Diageo invests in Reserve
We couldn’t be happier to have the support of Diageo Technology Ventures, a program designed to solve existing business challenges and unlock new opportunities for future growth by working with emerging tech companies and entrepreneurs. Diageo’s popular brands, such as Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Smirnoff and Guinness, are featured in bars and restaurants across the country, and Diageo’s insight into the restaurant industry provides a valuable resource to Reserve as we accelerate our growth in 2016.
Reserve acquires Dash
Since 2013, Dash has built technology to make your night out better. Best known for their mobile payment app, which allowed users to split or pay the bill and get an itemized receipt at more than 250 bars and restaurants across the country, the team also used data in innovative ways, like their “Venue Vibe” feature, which helped users see where they should go for a relaxed date night or find a boisterous bar for a birthday out.
The Dash team will join Reserve, bringing their talent and technology to our platform. For our restaurant partners, we’re excited for the ability to integrate with Point of Sale systems like Micros, Aloha and others to unlock opportunities for better hospitality. For example, knowing whether a guest ordered steak or the vegan special the last time they visited could help a server make a better recommendation. For our diners, the Dash acquisition will also help Reserve provide better guidance on where and what to eat, bring simpler checkouts and make those pesky expense reports a lot easier.
Starting today, Dash users who love paying effortlessly can download the Reserve app to continue to seamlessly pay the bill and split the check, as well as experience our reservation and concierge services, as the Dash app will no longer process payment.
The restaurant technology sector is fast-moving and dynamic. When we first started Reserve we heard from restaurateurs that the space was so crowded with startups it was hard to know who to trust with their business, but that’s no longer the case — and investors and restaurateurs recognize the change. As we continue to attract entrepreneurs, investors and new restaurant partners, we look forward an even more impressive year ahead.