The deal, in plain English
What founding membership is
A one-time payment of $199 makes your restaurant a founding member of the Downtown Lunch Club. Founding membership is offered by invitation or approved application. The founding rate ($199 one time, with an optional $99 per month from September, locked at that rate for as long as you stay) is available for 24 hours from the moment your invitation page is first opened. Your invitation page shows a countdown and the exact closing time. After the window closes, standard terms apply: $299 to join and $149 per month.
What you get
- An offer plan built with you: member-exclusive offers fit to your menu and margins, live at the August launch and running all month. You approve the plan and its offer bank up front; nothing goes live without your sign-off.
- Automated follow-ups (each member's personal ladder and lifecycle reminders) draw only from the offer bank you approved. You can change or pause the plan anytime.
- A monthly spotlight (a featured item, a seasonal, a chef's pick) that you approve each month, plus any offers you write yourself, which run on your say-so.
- Placement in every member's club portal and inclusion in our outreach to the membership.
- The launch campaign: our recruiting push that fills the club, plus your printed materials (register cards, club QR display).
- A live dashboard, always on: members in, first visits, return visits, offers redeemed.
What it costs after August
Nothing, unless you choose to continue. After the launch month you may stay on at the founding rate of $99/month, locked for as long as you remain continuously subscribed — or simply stop. Month to month, cancel anytime with an email. If you cancel and later return, the then-current rate applies.
Refunds
If you change your mind any time before your first offer goes live at launch, email us and we'll refund the $199 in full. After your offer is live, the founding fee is non-refundable (it will have been spent on the launch push), but you owe nothing further and can end participation anytime.
The honest parts
- We don't guarantee outcomes. We don't control who walks in. Your dashboard shows you exactly what the club is doing for you, and continuing is always your call.
- Offers are funded by you — the food-cost of what you choose to give members. We never take a percentage of your sales and we never handle your payments.
- We protect the audience. We cap how often members are contacted and how offers are distributed; capacity limits, blackout windows, and daily caps you set are always honored.
- Curation is ours. We decide who's on the list. We can remove a partner whose quality or conduct hurts the club (with a pro-rated refund of any prepaid month).
- Member data stays with the club. You get reporting about visits to your restaurant, not members' personal information.
Billing
Payments are processed by PayPal and appear on statements as "Experial." Monthly billing (if you continue past launch) starts September 1, 2026 and renews monthly until you cancel.
The boring-but-necessary part
The club is a marketing program, not a partnership, agency, or employment relationship. Each side is responsible for its own business — you for your food, premises, and compliance; us for the club, the platform, and the campaign. Our total liability to you is capped at the amounts you've paid us in the prior 12 months. These terms are governed by California law. We may update these terms with notice; changes never remove something you've already paid for.
Questions
Ask before you sign — we'd rather answer than have you guess.