Chicago’s Tock Raises $10 Million For Upscale Takeout

Chicago-based restaurant booking platform Tock raised $10 million in a Series C funding round led by Valor Siren Ventures with participation from Origin Ventures. 

The startup, co-founded by Nick Kokonas, Tock’s chief executive officer, and Brian Fitzpatrick, its chief technology officer, launched in 2014 to bring innovative booking and management options to restaurants. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the company did a fast pivot and developed Tock to Go to help restaurants offer takeout or delivery.

Jon Shulkin, Valor Siren Ventures fund manager, who also sits on Tock’s board, said the startup has an innovative system and fast-growing client base “but we were blown away by its rapid development and deployment of Tock to Go amidst this terrible pandemic.” 

He added that Tock really showed it had “true grit and entrepreneurial spirit” and developed solutions to help “thousands of restaurants build a bridge to the future.” 

As restaurants reopen, Tock’s all-in-one platform is “game-changing for the industry,” Shulkin said.

The Tock platform offers restaurants the ability to book reservations, plan events, handle take-out and managed customers with an integrated CRM.

Tock’s cloud-based platform was being used by almost 3,000 restaurants, wineries, and pop-ups across 28 countries in over 200 cities as of February 2020. But when COVID-19 hit, most of those businesses shuttered. 

The company rapidly developed Tock to Go to help restaurants offer pickup and delivery. In April, Tock added nearly 1,000 new restaurants, enabling them to rehire staff and offer “elevated carryout menus” and delivery service. Tock charges a flat 3 percent fee for this service, significantly lower than the 25 percent many third-party apps charge.

“Tock’s mission has never wavered,” said Kokonas. “We always focus on empowering restaurants to have a better, direct connection with their customers. In doing so we help them provide superior hospitality, increase their sales, and streamline their operations.” 

A May 7 PYMNTS study on the reopening of the economy surveyed 2,047 American consumers to learn about their outlook post-pandemic and examine why many might not be so anxious to return to the way they lived before.