WorkChew raises $2.5M to match hotels and restaurants with remote workers

WorkChew, a startup that turns unused space in hotels and restaurants into co-working spaces, has raised $2.5 million in an oversubscribed seed round.

The funding was led by Harlem Capital with participation from Wilshire Lane Partners, Invictus Advisory Group, Techstars Ventures, RW Capital Investments and several individual investors. 

The Washington, D.C.-based company plans to use the funding to grow its team, develop its technology and add supply across the United States.

Founded in 2018 by Maisha Burt, WorkChew is a marketplace that connects individuals and companies with hotels and restaurants that are offering space for work. Memberships also provide options to reserve socially distanced indoor or outdoor seating, receive discounts on food and beverages with contactless ordering and access to special events and products. 

The company currently operates in Washington, Philadelphia and Chicago and will open soon in New York, Atlanta, Miami, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles and Denver.

"WorkChew is a solution that means less miles traveled for the employee, fewer dollars spent by the company on more expensive co-working space, and incremental revenue for hospitality partners. Innovative and forward-thinking companies are actively considering solutions that improve workforce productivity and experience away from the office," Burt says.

“WorkChew is a rapidly growing two-sided marketplace that is optimized for a post-pandemic work economy,” says Adam Demuyakor, managing partner of Wilshire Lane Partners, who will be joining the company as a board observer.

“The monetization of underutilized spaces is a key thesis at Wilshire Lane Partners and WorkChew delivers on this. Restaurants and hotels that are seeing reduced demand today will stand to benefit greatly from WorkChew's platform as an auxiliary channel to generate revenue.”

Adds Jarrid Tingle, managing partner of Harlem Capital, who will join the WorkChew board, “The pandemic has significantly altered how we work. Harlem Capital believes it's very unlikely that knowledge workers go back to commuting and working in the office five days a week after seeing the benefits of remote work. However, we all still yearn for human connection. Having a place to work individually or with colleagues in flexible, comfortable settings outside of the home is appealing for many people.”