OpenRest

OpenRest was a restaurant software company founded by Danny Leshem and Yoav Amit in the early 2010s. The company developed digital ordering tools intended to help restaurants establish direct online ordering channels rather than relying exclusively on third-party marketplaces. Its offering included restaurant-focused websites and ordering applications, with the business later placing increasing emphasis on mobile development. The company was based in Delaware and maintained its research and development operation in Tel Aviv. Its development model reflected the international character of the online restaurant technology market: a United States corporate base was combined with engineering activity in Israel and products designed for restaurants serving customers through web and mobile interfaces. OpenRest initially focused on web applications. According to the available historical account, it shifted toward mobile development in 2011, a period when restaurant ordering was increasingly moving from desktop websites to smartphone applications. By 2013, approximately 300 restaurants had launched OpenRest-powered ordering applications through the App Store. This adoption indicated that the company was positioning itself as an infrastructure and digital commerce provider for restaurants rather than as a consumer-facing delivery marketplace. OpenRest expanded its payment and platform capabilities through several partnerships. In June 2013, it announced a collaboration with RestCloud. Later in 2013, it partnered with Bits of Gold to become the first restaurant online ordering system described in the available source as offering bitcoin payments to all of its clients. In July 2014, an integration with BitPay broadened the company's bitcoin payment offering. OpenRest also launched a French-language version of its service in June 2014, supporting further internationalization of its restaurant software. The company was acquired by Wix.com in October 2014 for $12 million. The transaction ended OpenRest's independent corporate status and brought its restaurant-ordering technology into Wix's broader website and business-services portfolio. OpenRest is therefore best understood as a defunct, acquired restaurant software brand rather than an independently operating company. Publicly available information is limited regarding its later product roadmap, employee leadership, customer concentration, and the extent to which its technology continued under the OpenRest name after the acquisition.

OpenRest was established by Danny Leshem and Yoav Amit in 2010. The company began by developing web applications for restaurants and related online ordering use cases. In 2011, it shifted toward mobile development, reflecting the growing importance of smartphones as a channel for restaurant discovery, ordering, and payment. The company operated with a Delaware base and a research and development office in Tel Aviv. Its product model centered on giving restaurants their own digital ordering presence. Rather than functioning primarily as a delivery marketplace, OpenRest supplied software that restaurants could use to publish online ordering websites and mobile applications. This distinction placed the company in the restaurant technology and direct-commerce segment. By 2013, around 300 restaurants had launched OpenRest-powered ordering applications on the App Store. During that year, OpenRest also announced a collaboration with RestCloud. In late 2013, the company partnered with Bits of Gold to offer bitcoin payments to all of its clients, an unusual feature for restaurant ordering software at the time. In June 2014, it launched a French-language version of its service. The following month, OpenRest integrated with BitPay, expanding the technical and payment infrastructure supporting its bitcoin offering. OpenRest's independent history concluded in October 2014, when Wix.com acquired the company for $12 million. The acquisition brought OpenRest's restaurant-ordering capabilities into Wix's wider platform for websites and business services. Available reference material does not provide a detailed account of the post-acquisition product architecture, leadership changes, staffing, or the subsequent use of the OpenRest name. The brand is consequently recorded as defunct as an independent company, with Wix.com as its acquiring parent and owner.

• 2014

  French-language version launches

  [1]OpenResten.wikipedia.org

  OpenRest launches a French-language version of its restaurant ordering service.

• 2014

  Wix.com acquisition

  [1]OpenResten.wikipedia.org

  Wix.com acquires OpenRest in October for $12 million.

• 2013

  Restaurant application adoption reaches approximately 300 locations

  [1]OpenResten.wikipedia.org

  Approximately 300 restaurants have launched OpenRest-powered ordering applications on the App Store.

• 2013

  Collaboration with RestCloud

  [1]OpenResten.wikipedia.org

  OpenRest and RestCloud announce a collaboration.

• 2013

  Bitcoin payment support introduced

  [1]OpenResten.wikipedia.org

  OpenRest partners with Bits of Gold to provide bitcoin payments to its clients.

• 2011

  Shift toward mobile development

  [1]OpenResten.wikipedia.org

  OpenRest moves from an initial focus on web applications toward mobile development.

• 2010

  OpenRest is founded

  [1]OpenResten.wikipedia.org

  Danny Leshem and Yoav Amit establish OpenRest as a restaurant technology company.

A restaurant-focused digital commerce platform designed to help restaurant operators accept direct online and mobile orders, with multilingual and alternative-payment capabilities.

• Restaurant software · 2010

  OpenRest restaurant ordering platform

  OpenRest provided restaurant owners with online ordering websites and mobile ordering applications. The platform was designed to support direct digital ordering under a restaurant's own presence, rather than requiring the restaurant to rely solely on a consumer marketplace. Its capabilities included restaurant ordering applications, multilingual support, and integrations for alternative payment methods, including bitcoin through partnerships with Bits of Gold and BitPay.

• 2014

  Acquisition by Wix.comM&A

  Background

  Wix.com acquired OpenRest to add restaurant online-ordering capabilities to its broader website and business-services portfolio.

  Action taken

  Wix.com acquired OpenRest in October 2014.

  Aftermath

  OpenRest ceased to operate as an independent company and became part of Wix.com's business.

  Acquisition price. $12 million (October 2014)

  Source

• 2013

  Add bitcoin paymentsProduct launch

  Background

  OpenRest sought to broaden the payment options available through its restaurant ordering system.

  Action taken

  It partnered with Bits of Gold to provide bitcoin payments to all of its clients.

  Aftermath

  The company later integrated with BitPay in 2014 to expand the bitcoin payment offering.

  Source

• 2011

  Move from web applications toward mobileStrategy

  Background

  OpenRest began with a focus on web applications as restaurants developed online ordering channels.

  Action taken

  The company shifted its development emphasis toward mobile applications.

  Aftermath

  By 2013, approximately 300 restaurants had launched OpenRest-powered ordering applications on the App Store.

  Source

1. 1OpenResten.wikipedia.org