Website builder Squarespace has acquired Tock, which provides the hospitality industry with online reservations, restaurant management, takeout, delivery and event management.
The sale was valued at $400 million and will be a mixture of cash and stock. With the purchase, Squarespace customers will be able to manage reservations, accelerate sales, provide marketing integrations and connect directly with their customers.
“Ecommerce within the restaurant and hospitality industries is a large and growing market opportunity,” said Anthony Casalena, Squarespace founder & CEO. “I’ve long admired Tock’s vision to reimagine how reservation-based businesses connect with their customers. We believe that together we will continue building on their success, bringing Tock’s capabilities to our all-in-one product suite in service of our customers in the hospitality industry and beyond.”
Launched in 2014 by restaurateur Nick Kokonas and technology professional Brian Fitzpatrick, Tock originally focused on reservations and kitchen management. The platform was completely relaunched last year to focus on the needs of restaurants industry during pandemic. The company launched Tock to Go that allowed restaurants offer pickup and delivery. It was offered as an alternative to using the third-party delivery companies.
“What makes Tock such a strong player is that they’re both on the reservation side and the delivery side,” says R.J. Melman, president of restaurant group Lettuce Entertain You. “So when things open back up and take-out business becomes a lower portion of what you’re doing and your reservation business will increase, [Tock] will help you on either side.”
The acquisition of Tock follows Squarespace’s purchase of Acuity Scheduling, the online appointment scheduling platform, and Unfold, an app that helps customers create elevated and engaging stories for social media.
“Squarespace and Tock have a shared mission of elevating and enabling our customers’ success and passion,” Kokonas said. “Combining Tock’s unified platform and years of hospitality industry expertise with Squarespace’s reach, resources, and design-forward products, in our view, creates an opportunity to deliver a best-in-class solution to millions of entrepreneurs and small businesses around the world.”
