Sorry to OpenTable and Resy, but This Simply Is Not Enough
Both companies have announced LA wild fire donation plans that don't provide enough support to the local restaurants they work with


Hello from Los Angeles, where an omnipresent feeling of uncertainty hangs in the air interspersed between flecks of ash and particles of debris. I remain in awe of the incredible fire fighters (including those who are incarcerated) that have managed to either completely put out or majorly contain the devastating wild fires that started to burn nearly two weeks ago. (I highly encourage those who can afford to, to donate directly to the GoFundMe campaigns of people and families who have been displaced by the fires.)
The situation feels frustratingly bleak for local restaurants: owners and chefs that I have spoken to say business is down 40%-60% (For even more heartbreaking details and figures from restaurants across the city, please read this story from Eater LA.) Restaurants that often have waitlists and are booked weeks out, had several open tables as I scanned Resy and OpenTable. Earlier this week, I walked into Lasita at 6:30pm only to find a handful of booths occupied. The normally bustling Chinatown plaza it is located in, was unnervingly quiet. Parking had never been easier to find.
This past Friday, I was able to make a reservation at Etra, the hip and cozy Italian restaurant just off of Melrose, mere hours before we walked through the door — something that is absolutely unheard on most normal weeks.
Much to my relief, the dining room ended up filling up, and my friend and I settled into a much needed catch up over two perfectly chilled glasses of muscadet and what is perhaps the city’s best spaghetti pomodoro. But as my friend and esteemed New York Times food writer Tejal Rao pointed out to me in a text: a somewhat normal Friday or Saturday night does not make up for a week of slow business and a few days of closures.
Earlier this week I wrote a newsletter about how the LA restaurant community immediately leaped into action, cooking hundreds and thousands of meals for first responders, evacuees, and volunteers, more often than not out of their own pockets. The LA wild fires are not the first time, nor will they be the last time, that local restaurants step up to serve their communities in times of crisis (just look at what happened in Asheville only a few months ago.) I raised the question, “as these restaurants are supporting the community — who is supporting them?,” asking in particular where was the support from giant industry players like Resy and OpenTable.
While the restaurant industry desperately needs protections at a governmental policy level above all, the reason I ask about these two companies specifically is because one of the culinary industry’s worst kept secrets is how much money both Resy and OpenTable have thrown at restaurants to woo them away from one reservation platform to another over the past couple of years. I’ve heard of all kinds of offers from a promise of waived fees, to marketing dollars on their platform, to support for events, to straight up cash, and in the case of one chef, an alleged full blown vacation home. (*This is something the chef told me, but I have not confirmed it with the company.*) I’ve even had reps from one of these companies drunkenly brag to me about how they were about to have a giant cash influx to spend while at an industry event last year.
But where are these dollars when their “restaurant partners” need them the most? As it stands, unless a restaurant is working directly with World Central Kitchen, there is no organization or foundation actively working to help reimburse or compensate these restaurants for their food & labor costs, as well as alleviating some of the burden of the financial hit that comes from low customer turn out and even a day or two of closures.
Resy noted that along with its sister brand Tock, they would be donating $200,000 to World Central Kitchen. And while supporting WCK is great, during a crisis of this size, the organization is only able to feed and support a certain number of people and partner with a certain number of restaurants. It’s an impressive operation, but it cannot feed everyone, nor should WCK be expected to. And this donation still doesn’t help the restaurants on the ground that continue to feed the community.
OpenTable announced earlier this week that through “various initiatives,” it is “pledging to commit over $1 million in support of the industry’s relief efforts.” The company says in the announcement that of that pledged $1 million, $100,000 will be distributed to “our LA-based restaurant partners that have sprung into action to provide relief efforts and feed those affected by the wildfires.”
But there is zero transparency or explanation on how this money will be divided up. Will 20 restaurants get $5,000? Will some restaurants get $1,000 while others get $10,000? How many restaurants will actually find enough support and relief through this initiative? While $1,000 definitely helps a restaurant maybe make payroll or pay for ingredients, it’s not enough to save them from closing.
What is maybe most frustrating about this initiative is that there is absolutely no way for a restaurant to apply for support. Per my DMs with an OpenTable rep, these restaurants need to get in contact with an OpenTable employee like their account manager for help (and just cross their fingers that there will be funds left I guess?) The reservation platform has also launched a GoFundMe, through which they are also raising funds to distribute to their “restaurant partners.” But whatever money is donated will be distributed at OpenTable’s discretion and per a note on their GoFundMe page, will only be used to support restaurants on their platform.
So what about restaurants that use Resy, or perhaps even more importantly, what about restaurants that are counter service or fast casual in nature and do not use a reservation platform (like Little Fish in Echo Park) that have been producing thousands of meals? Where should they look to for relief beyond hoping that people will find and donate to their Venmo account? I have had many chefs and owners who dm’d me or texted me to express their dismay at the lack of support they are feeling from both platforms, even if their restaurants are on these platforms.
It would be a different conversation if OpenTable earmarked all $1 million to directly support restaurants on the ground with whatever they might need. Instead, they are using it to support things like DineLA, which is essentially restaurant week (something many restaurants actually hate, more on this in a future newsletter), and fundraising dinners and events that restaurants are doing or might want to do in the future. Resy is also supporting many of these fundraising events. And again, while this is a nice thought, it doesn’t solve the problem at hand for restaurants that simply need a cash infusion to help cover labor and food costs as they continue to feed the community during crisis.
To ask any of these restaurants to take on a fundraising dinner, unless they truly want to, is like asking them to do more work to help cover the extra work they have already taken on. The math just does not math. From the chefs that I have spoken to, most of them just want to be able to make sure their staffs are paid, and that their restaurant will still be open and around for regular service. It should also be noted that the proceeds from many of these fundraising dinners and events are going to various charities and initiatives — but not necessarily directly to the restaurants themselves.
I also should note that both Resy and OpenTable are waiving their platform fees for LA restaurants (Resy says thet are doing it “temporarily” and OpenTable announced they will wave the fees through April.) Which, again, this is a nice step, but feels like the bare minimum. Let us stop applauding the bare minimum in 2025.
The reality is, it is both Resy and OpenTable’s self-interest for restaurants to not only survive, but thrive. Without restaurants, their businesses quite literally would cease to exist. I am completely fine if a longer-term solution is created not out of altruism but out of personal (corporate) benefit.
Unfortunately, the LA wild fires will not be the last crisis to occur. Fortunately, independent restaurants will always continue to step up — as long as they get the support they need to ensure survival.