In the past four months, Table22 has closed an $11mm Series A and Dorsia has raised a $50mm seed/Series A as food away from home as ‘food away from home’ (restaurants and bars) maintained a steady +53% share over ‘food at home’ (groceries and liquor stores) in 2024. While Dorsia and Table22 are very different, they are attacking a big problem– simply opening your doors for lunch and/or dinner service and expecting the same outcomes that have played out over the past decades is now simply no longer a viable option. Amidst record low profitability, operators now need sources of incremental profit without increasing their overhead. For Dorsia, that looks like helping restaurants with “yield management” through dynamic upward pricing of their prime tables and for Table22, that looks like creating new subscription businesses for local restaurants outside of their four walls. But what about the insides of these spaces? This week, HNGRY examines a lesser-known startup called The Third Place that is looking at a third option to reimagine restaurants as vibrant community spaces through recurring memberships that have the potential to cover their entire fixed costs.