You Decide the Menu at the Next Hottest Restaurant

The stars did not align for Dinner Lab's first meal. Few tickets sold, and the silverware came from a nearby pawn shop. The roof collapsed at their temporary kitchen. One employee abruptly quit

"We thought, maybe this is a sign we shouldn't be doing this," says CEO Brian Bordainick says of the venture

Two years later the community dining experience, which pairs eager foodies with menus drawn up by rising stars in the culinary industry, is a hot meal ticket. Hipsters now celebrate Dinner Lab's mismatched pawn shop silverware and unconventional dining locations — factories, piers, helipads, motorcycle dealerships — and its membership wait list numbers in the thousands (only members can attend dinners, and each city's roster is capped at around 200 heads). The brand did this while avoiding traditional publicity, instead letting word of mouth and occasional press do the talking. Read more...