Menufy sale scales HungerRush to more than 500 workers, 20,000 restaurants, KC co-founder says
October 27, 2021 | Channa Steinmetz
Growth isn’t new to the menu for Menufy’s Leawood based team, said Sharmil Desai, noting the online platform for restaurants had grown to 140 employees before its freshly announced acquisition by HungerRush.
“I can’t think of any point when Menufy has not been adding and expanding,” Desai, co-founder and CEO of Menufy, told Startland News. “We’ve always been bringing in new hires, so we’ve gotten used to managing a company with a growing team. The team here is used to change.”
Click here to read more about why Menufy sold to HungerRush, a Houston-based cloud software provider for the restaurant industry.
Menufy announced Tuesday that its e-commerce platform for restaurant ordering will be incorporated into the HungerRush 360 cloud point-of-sale (POS) system — which is complementary to solutions already offered by Menufy.
Details of the acquisition deal were not disclosed. The local team is expected to operate under the “Menufy by HungerRush” brand.
“We covered two different parts of the market with HungerRush being more mid-market and us being more SMB [small and midsize business] focused,” Desai explained. “We saw a lot of strengths that would be good for us and for both of the combined businesses.”
“When you look at the combined businesses, the scale is impressive,” he continued, noting the 20,000 restaurants under the unified company. “The team now has over 500 employees.”
Click here to read more about how Menufy grew its operations with a diverse team built in Kansas City.
Although the company didn’t release specific hiring plans, Kansas City can expect to see more local job openings, Desai said.
“We have some job postings that are still open, and we definitely want to fill them,” he added. “We’re just going to keep growing.”
HungerRush’s headquarters is expected to remain in Houston, but Leawood, Kansas, will be added to the company’s list of offices. Other locations include: India, Austin, New York and Ann Arbor, Michigan.
As organizational changes lie ahead for the company, Desai said, the Menufy team is ready to dive in while still focusing on its business and customers — old and new.
“We’re really excited about the acquisition,” Desai said. “I think it’s going to be great for our employees; I think it’s going to be great for our customers; and I think it’s going to be great for Kansas City.”
This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.
For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn

2021 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Operation Breakthrough bridge over Troost symbolizes ‘real community’ at an intersection
With reflection in his voice, Alvin Brooks paused. “The city has to be a partner,” the Civil Rights activist and veteran Kansas City Police Commissioner said as he spoke of the redevelopment of Troost Avenue — the well known racial dividing line, that has long isolated the east side of the Kansas City metro from the…
Troostapalooza aims to shed the old skin of city’s racial dividing line, says Kemet Coleman
Troostapalooza will build community while constructively addressing the elephant in the room, said Kemet Coleman, organizer of the newly developed street festival. “We wanted to create a home away from home on Troost that is inclusive and sensitive to the historic and existing nuances,” he said. “Not the violent, divisive one that is portrayed by…
Defiant anti-gentrification voice: Clock is ticking on east side neighborhoods, Movement KC
Daniel Edwards isn’t shy about his frustrations with the perception of Kansas City’s east side. “I remember my first corporate lunch after graduating college: the joke was, ‘Nobody wants to go near 35th and Prospect at night time,’” said Edwards, a Kansas City area developer and the founder of Movement KC. “I was like, ‘Yo, it’s…
Fried gator to chicken alfredo: Flavors driving KC Cajun to entrepreneur’s next phase
Kansas City businesses should utilize every resource at their disposal to build stronger brands, said Israel England, owner and operator of KC Cajun. “I’m branching out,” England said with confidence as he detailed his coming venture — adapting his KC Cajun catering service into a food truck. “There is so much more room to improve,…


