Tyler Tep cofounded The Dinner Table in his apartment after living in New York for about three years.
He wanted to find a way to contribute to the city’s culture.
Tep said they’d been flooded with inbound requests to expand to new cities.
But the food and beverage business is already tough, and the new ventures bring their own challenges.
And some dinner club creators are paying their own way.
Even so, they believe that dinner clubs can be a salve for a lonelier world.
Instead of simply serving up dishes to guests, it functions as a nightly dinner party.
Now the concept has moved to a larger, permanent space.
“A lot of people work from home these days.
A lot of people just either go to the office and back,” Watts said.
“You have your tight, little bubbles that you operate in.
Another challenge is a generous reservation period and cancellations.
It’s a little bit more of something to be going to,” Watts said.
When I visited Lucky Dinner Club, my fellow diners knew about these industry challenges all too well.
We’re here because of Gabrielle Macafee, a 29-year-old based in Brooklyn.
When Macafee started out, she made Lucky Dinner “pay what you wish.”
During my visit, the meal was a la carte, meaning we paid for only what we eat.
They wanted a more fun experience for both workers and patrons.
D’Ambro said that at first, they anticipated whole parties would book the larger table.
It’s turned into a 3 12-hour dinner party a true experience.
And often, folks end up keeping the party going at his Southwark bar in the same building.
Even so, Ambra has been sold out almost every night, D’Ambro said.
But everybody’s been cool and it’s been good," he said.
Meanwhile, Tep is self-funding The Dinner Table, but he said the events had been profitable.
