Lightfoot founded Foodline two years ago, after he quit his job as an attorney at Cadwaller, Wickerson and Taft, a big Manhattan law firm. Lightfoot says he hopes to raise several times that in a third round of financing that should close by the end of the summer. He plans to use the new cash to double his sales team to 100 and, he hopes, expand his reach to 50,000 high-end eateries within five years. He's not the only one chasing the market. At least a half-dozen competitors already offer online reservations.
Analysts say the contest is too early to call.
And with so many players, there's likely to be consolidation soon, says Mark D. Kalinowski, a restaurant analyst with Salomon Smith Barney. Both players may run into resistance, even at the high end of the market. Some restaurants that pride themselves on top-notch customer service prefer to do it themselves, thank you. Sirio Maccioni, owner of New York's tony Le Cirque restaurant, says he answers the phone most of the day by himself so he can get to know diners even before they walk in the door. Doing it electronically would take away from the ambience that makes his restaurant special.