OpenTable, which bought one of Chattanooga's most successful startups in an $11.5 million deal in 2013, is moving out of the city later this year.
The San Francisco-based business that handles more than 20 million diners per month via online bookings is centralizing its restaurant product and engineering work to California, the company said Thursday.
"It was a difficult decision, but we determined that we needed to centralize our restaurant product and engineering work to our San Francisco and Los Angeles offices," Tiffany Fox, senior director of corporation communications for OpenTable, said in a statement. "We're proud of the work that has been done by our talented team in Chattanooga since we acquired Quickcue in 2013, and we have offered all employees the option to relocate."
There are 14 people in the Chattanooga office and it will remain open until mid-November, Fox said.
That number of employees is down from 21 that the company said it had in the summer 2015 after it moved to Seventh and Cherry streets downtown.
Matt McGauley of Fidelity Trust Co., which owns the building, said OpenTable is obligated under a long-term lease, but plans are to try to find a new tenant for the 6,750 square feet it occupies.
"It's Silicon Valley-type space," said McGauley about the three-story, 20,000-square-foot building that Fidelity renovated. It formerly served as Krystal Co.'s corporate headquarters many years ago.
Fidelty refurbished the historic 701 Building for a trio of technology companies in a $2.7 million project. McGauley said the building is leased up except for 700 square feet.
OpenTable bought Quickcue for cash from investors Blank Slate Ventures and Chattanooga Renaissance Fund. The company was founded by entrepreneur Aaron Welch and boosted by local investors such as Lex Tarumianz and dozens of others.
Quickcue was considered the first company from Chattanooga's entrepreneurial class of 2011 to build a successful business model and sell itself for a sizable profit. It was founded during Chattanooga's 48-hour launch event, which challenges entrepreneurs to work together to take their idea from concept to company in just two days.
The company offered clients, typically fast-casual restaurants, an application for about a penny per customer to help manage wait lists, track customer preferences and offer customized services.
In 2014, OpenTable agreed to a takeover offer by The Priceline Group for $2.6 billion.
McGauley said the local OpenTable employees were "very satisfied" in downtown Chattanooga and working in the city's Innovation District. The district is a 140-acre part of the central city created to serve as a place where entrepreneurs, tech-based startups, and business incubators can mesh and grow in a so-called innovation ecosystem.
"It had nothing to do with Chattanooga," McGauley said. "These things happen in a large corporation. We have to look at this as a great opportunity."
He said Fidelity will try to woo another tech company to the site, either from inside or outside the city.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.