An empty table earns nothing.
Every restaurant has hours that don’t fill. A Tuesday at 5:30 is not a Friday at 8, but the room costs the same to run either way. Zikiti exists to close that gap: a restaurant decides which hours are worth discounting and by how much, a diner books that hour and saves real money, and the seat that would have sat empty earns something instead.
How we make money
Plainly, because it matters.
Zikiti charges a platform fee of 15% of what the diner saves — never a cut of the bill, and never a commission taken from the restaurant. If a diner saves nothing, we earn nothing. If a guest doesn’t show up, we earn nothing, and the cover charge goes to the restaurant that held the table. Our incentive is to fill quiet rooms with people who actually turn up, which is the only version of this business worth building.
What makes it different
Three things, and all three are load-bearing.
Real reservations
A booking consumes actual, finite capacity for a real time band. It is never a cosmetic discount voucher with no table behind it.
Payment, not just discovery
You settle the bill in the app, at the table. Zikiti is the payment rail, not a directory that hands you off at the door.
The restaurant sets the terms
Hours, depth of discount, and minimums belong to the restaurant. Nothing is discounted platform-wide, and nothing without them setting it.
Where we’re starting
One corridor, properly.
Zikiti is launching along Queen Street East, through the Beaches into Leslieville, plus the Gerrard India Bazaar — a few dozen independent restaurants where the person who decides is usually the person on the floor. Density beats spread: a diner should be able to open Zikiti and find several real options within a short walk, which is only true if we go deep in one part of the city before going wide. Other cities come after that works here, not before.
Who we are
A small team, in Toronto.
Zikiti Ltd. is a Canadian company built by two founders with a background in banking, who spend a lot of time in the restaurants they’re building this for. We haven’t launched publicly yet — we’re signing founding partners now, and would rather say that plainly than pretend otherwise.
Run a restaurant with hours that don’t fill?
Founding partners pay 0% commission for their first 24 months. The application takes about five minutes and doesn’t need an account.
Questions, press enquiries, or anything else: support@zikiti.com.