NEW YORK Citing the economy’s effect on the restaurant industry, the founders of TableXchange.com, an online business that sold reservations to some of the hottest eateries in New York, said Friday they would shut down the site April 1.
The founders, in an e-mail sent to the website’s members, said, “With tables remaining empty at restaurants that once had 30+days waiting lists, the niche filled by ancillary services like TableXchange is no longer necessary.”
The company, launched in 2007 by former banker Gabriel Erbst and two partners, William Geronimo and Dwight Lee, came under fire for selling reservations to the swankiest Manhattan establishments for as little as $15 and as much as $40, depending on when and where the prospective guest preferred to dine. Gramercy Tavern, Peter Luger Steakhouse, restaurant Daniel and Prune were just some of the restaurants whose reservations were listed and sold on TableXchange’s website.
At the time of its debut, several restaurateurs likened TableXchange to ticket scalping, but the Manhattan district attorney’s office said brokering restaurant reservations was not illegal.
Contact Elissa Elan at [email protected].