Benjamin Goldsmith Leventhal (born January 1, 1979), more commonly known as Ben Leventhal, is an American businessman, noted primarily for being the co-founder of popular restaurant blog Eater, the co-founder and former CEO reservations company Resy (acquired by American Express in 2019)[1] and the founder and CEO of restaurant "hospitality technology platform" Blackbird.[2]
Leventhal grew up in New York City and Westchester. He attended the Horace Mann School and the George Washington University[3] and married Elizabeth Morgan in 2013.[4]
Career edit
Early Career edit
Leventhal's early career was spent at MTV Networks, where he was a "creative director" for VH1.[5] In 2009 he left Eater and joined NBC Universal to run lifestyle content for NBC's local stations group. There he led the development and launch of a website called, the Feast. The Feast offered local content and a rating system called "Feast Rank," which aggregated reviews and presented them as a composite score.[6] In 2010, Leventhal created Ozersky.TV, a collaboration with noted food personality Josh Ozersky.[7] In 2013, it was noted that Leventhal was the president of a food technology startup called Kitchensurfing, now defunct, which raised $3.5M in capital from Union Square Ventures and others.[8]
Eater edit
Along with co-founder Lockhart Steele, Leventhal launched Eater in 2005, initially an offshoot of the website Curbed.[9] "Eater was all about creating heroes and villains. Nothing more, nothing less," Leventhal has said.[10] In his role as co-founder and editor-in-chief of Eater, Leventhal was a pioneer of the modern professional food blog. Around the time of its launch it was said that Eater was "unsettling the ground of the restaurant industry."[11] In 2013, Eater was sold to Vox Media.[12] The famous Chef David Chang noted in his book Lucky Peach that Leventhal was the person who first told him that he had received two Michelin stars for his restaurant Ko.[13] During his tenure at Eater, Leventhal rose to become a prominent figure in the American restaurant scene.
Resy edit
Leventhal, along with co-founders Gary Vaynerchuck and Michael Montero, launched Resy in June 2014, initially with twenty restaurant partners in New York City. The app charged customers a fee to book last-minute reservations during high-demand seating times. The company initially raised $2M in equity financing, led by Vayner/RSE and Lerer Ventures.[14] In 2017 the home stay booking platform Airbnb led a subsequent $13M funding round for company.[15] Resy was one of several technology companies that would test the waters of pay-for-play at restaurants. The idea at the time was controversial and in an A1 New York Times story, Leventhal said, "Restaurants want to attract good customers, and lots of them are people who don’t want to sit on hold, or write an email or stand around outside a restaurant waiting to get in...They are used to getting what they want with two taps on their phone.”[16] In 2019 American Express acquired Resy. Leventhal joined American Express as CEO of Resy and GM, Global Dining. He exited Amex in November of 2020.[17]
The name "Resy" was first used by Leventhal in a newsletter publication he ran in the early aughts called "She Loves NY."[5]
References edit
- ^ "American Express is acquiring Resy". Forbes. 16 May 2019.
- ^ "Founder of Eater & Resy Launches Blackbird, a Web3 Loyalty Platform for Hospitality". The New York Times. 6 October 2022.
- ^ Platt, Adam (August 24, 2023). "Eater. Resy. Blackbird?". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
- ^ "Elizabeth Morgan, Benjamin Leventhal". The New York Times. 16 June 2013.
- ^ a b Sykes, Tom (November 8, 2003). "Reconnaissance Man: Web Site Spotlights Hot Date Spots for Urban Romeos". New York Post.
- ^ "Welcome to the Feast". NBC. November 21, 2010.
- ^ Says, Meatopia (2010-04-23). "Blogroll: OZERSKY.TV". Off The Broiler. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
- ^ Kafka, Peter (April 4, 2013). "Kitchensurfing Wants to Make Dinner at Your House, With Help From Union Square Ventures". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Savoring Gotham: A Food Lover's Companion to New York City. Oxford University Press. 2015-11-11. ISBN 978-0-19-026364-5.
- ^ Levine, Ed (2019-06-11). Serious Eater: A Food Lover's Perilous Quest for Pizza and Redemption. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-525-53354-2.
- ^ Salkin, Allan (February 4, 2007). "Sharp Bites". The New York Times.
- ^ Hempel, Jesse (November 11, 2013). "Vox Media acquires Curbed Network for $20-$30M".
- ^ Chang, David; Ulla, Gabe (2020-09-08). Eat a Peach: A Memoir. Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed. ISBN 978-1-5247-5922-3.
- ^ Crook, Jordan (July 31, 2014). "Resy, The App That Lets You Buy A Reservation, Eats Up $2 Million In Seed Funding". TechCrunch.
- ^ Bensinger, Greg (January 17, 2017). "Airbnb Invests in Restaurant booking App Resy". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Moskin, Julia (June 13, 2014). "Getting a Good Table by Flicking an App, Not Greasing a Palm". The New York Times.
- ^ "Resy Founder and CEO Ben Leventhal Steps Down". Restaurant Business Onlnie. November 19, 2020.