InKind is trying to build a new model of restaurant investment by incentivizing diners with special perks.
Guests with house accounts can order secret menu items , such as a Japanese toro, Santa Barbara uni and golden osetra caviar bowl that’s put together at your table at Pabu. Being an inKind member also gives you access to priority reservations and lets you pay the check and add gratuity with the app and without the need to let your server know that you’re leaving. And some of the most exclusive experiences at Mina’s restaurants are available only to those with inKind house accounts.
“On the back end, we’re starting to associate everything on your check with you as a diner,” says Moonesinghe, who is inKind’s CEO. “We understand that, oh, you love high-end barolo. And then if we’re working with another restaurant near where you live that we think you would like, we might send you $50 in credit to that restaurant just as a gift.”
Last week, Mina Group president Jason Himber was in Austin, where inKind is based, and scouted potential restaurant locations with Moonesinghe. The plan, Himber says, is for Mina Group to open its first Austin restaurant later this year before debuting several more Austin spots. , the James Beard nominee in Winter Park, Florida, for years. The average gratuity for an InKind house account-holder is 28 percent. And the reason is because they’re getting such good service.”When Mina first learned about inKind about a year ago, he was intrigued by the concept and did his due diligence.
“When we offer inKind experiences, I want them to be worth the money,” Himber says. “At the same time, it allows me to really put higher-margin items and things that really drive better profitability front and center.”