Top Restaurants Startups in 2026

Zerocater builds revolutionary corporate catering and cafeteria solutions employees love while saving companies millions of dollars as they transition to the hybrid workplace. With its Cloud Cafe, Hybrid Cafe, Managed Cafe, and Event Cafe products; Zerocater has built corporate cafeteria and office catering programs for companies of all sizes from growing startups to the Fortune 500. Thousands of companies like TikTok, Datadog, Airtable, and McKinsey choose Zerocater for the customized, consistent, and diverse meal experiences its products offer, while also reducing costs by giving companies the flexibility to only pay for the employees who come into the office. Zerocater currently offers its corporate cafeteria and office catering products in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Austin, Denver, Seattle, and Washington D.C. with additional markets in the U.S. and Canada coming online every month. Since completing YCombinator in Winter 2011, Zerocater has raised $38.5M from leading investors including Cleveland Avenue, Remus Capital, Romulus Capital, Struck Capital, SV Angel, Keith Rabois, Yuri Milner, Paul Buchheit, and Justin Kan. For more information visit zerocater.com and follow @Zerocater on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and Twitter. Check out our company profile on Workatastartup: workatastartup.com/directory/171

TapTab is a TikTok-style interface from which diners can place orders and make reservations directly from videos.

Olo powers digital ordering and delivery programs that connect restaurant brands to the on-demand world, placing orders directly into the restaurant through all order origination points – from a brand’s own website or app, third party marketplaces, social media platforms, smart speakers, and home assistants. Olo serves as the on-demand ordering and delivery platform across 70,000 locations for over 300 brands, such as Applebee’s (DIN), Checkers & Rally’s, Cheesecake Factory (CAKE), Chili’s (EAT), Dairy Queen, Denny’s (DENN), Five Guys Burgers & Fries, Jamba Juice (JMBA), Noodles & Company (NDLS), Portillo’s Hot Dogs, Shake Shack (SHAK), sweetgreen, Wingstop (WING), and more. Learn more at olo.com.

The future of hiring is here. And it's thrilling. Come work with us to find and empower talent, while solving the biggest problem facing retail today. We're looking for innovative thinkers and rebellious spirits to join our team. If this sounds like you, drop us a line at [email protected].

Thanx is a leading provider of digital guest engagement for offline businesses. Brick-and-mortar retailers, restaurants and malls are facing an unprecedented crisis in the aftermath of COVID-19; Thanx helps these businesses embrace digital purchasing, capture greater customer data, and take action on that information to personalize every interaction with their guests. Our proprietary integrations with credit card networks (e.g. Visa) provide the volume and accuracy of purchase data which sits at the core of every product we build.

Hudson Creative is a digital marketing agency founded to help businesses increase traffic to their website and convert online explorers into customers. We have developed a unique, custom process over 10+ years to build, track and improve our client’s online presence. We execute online marketing strategies that resonate with the right audience and directly impact revenue growth. Our three core services – Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Website Management and Digital Advertising – produce real results that matter to our clients.

Relish is the super-app turning social media influencers into freelance marketers with thriving businesses. We match those same marketers with agencies and their clients for campaigns that drive awareness and sales through social media and influencer collaborations. We've helped businesses launch new locations, expand into new markets, and promote new product lines! Our integrated suite of marketing tools helps marketers and agencies connect more efficiently, driving cost-effective revenue growth. Whether they're building sleek landing pages, accepting payments, or automating outreach, Wise Assistant is here to help. We’re a scrappy international, team that is insanely passionate about using tech to help the world live more freely and intentionally.

Our mission is to make cooking fresh food at home as easy as possible. Our chefs shop for you and plan your meals, allowing you to choose from a new menu every week. We offer a meal delivery service that includes all of the fresh ingredients and instructions needed to cook restaurant quality meals for 2, 4 or 6 people in the comfort of your own kitchen. We eliminate recipe and food hunting by sending you a flavor packed kit along with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions, turning you into a top chef. We are proudly headquartered in Chicago, giving you access to some of the best chef curated food in the country.

Our products enhance the guest dining experience, streamlines operations, and increase our clients’ brand value. With PrestoPrime, diners can order food, provide feedback, play games, and pay their bill at the table, without waiting. Our system includes not only specialized hardware, but also a complete software solution designed to meet the specialized needs of restaurants.

Founded in Saskatoon, Canada, in 2014, with offices in Toronto, 7shifts is the restaurant labor management solution used by over 350,000 restaurant pros across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. 7shifts is used by growing multi-unit restaurant groups including Bareburger, Honeygrow, Smoke's Poutinerie, YogurtLand, Clean Juice, and many others. More than a scheduling platform, 7shifts empowers restaurant managers to optimize their workforce to better manage employees, resulting in reduced labor costs, and freed up time for managers to focus on better serving their customers. Learn more at: 7shifts.com