Danny Meyer wants to be your delivery man. His private-equity fund Enlightened Hospitality Investments has led a new funding round into Goldbelly, the online food market that brings local specialties to a national audience. Following the success of Shake Shack, Meyer — once a neighborhood restaurateur who didn’t even stray far from Union Square — has been busy investing in food businesses like Los Angeles chain Tender Greens and Portland ice-cream maker Salt & Straw.
Goldbelly isn’t another delivery platform like Seamless, but a one-stop resource for American regional foods that smartly capitalizes on people’s food obsessions. It provides a platform for some 350 producers, giving consumers access to foods like Prince’s hot chicken, Central Grocery’s muffulettas, O&H Danish Bakery’s kringles, and Roberta’s pizza. The internet has, by and large, done a number on retail, contributing in New York to a significant rise in retail vacancies. The shift toward online shopping will keep going so long as there’s the internet, and it makes sense that Meyer would invest in this particular delivery platform.
