Social dining network Grubwithus raises $5 million

Grubwithus, a Venice-based social dining network that hosts restaurant dinners for strangers, has received a $5-million round of funding led by GRP Partners.

Users of Grubwithus -- known as “grubbers� -- connect through the website and sign up to attend dinners at local restaurants, where they meet people with similar interests or backgrounds. Dinners in the L.A. area have been organized for music lovers, people who are new to the area, Westside entrepreneurs and downtown dwellers, among others.

Grubwithus was launched in August 2010 and has 14 full-time employees. Meals have been held in nearly 50 cities. The company said its user base has doubled during the last six months.

The company said the capital would help it “further its growth trajectory� by developing its restaurant portfolio, creating additional marketing channels, enhancing the customer experience and driving expansion into new domestic and international markets.

Grubwithus said it also planned to launch last-minute group get-togethers and happy hours.

As part of the deal, GRP’s Mark Suster will join the company’s board. In addition to Los Angeles-based GRP, Lebanese entrepreneur Michel Daher also participated in the round.

The latest investment follows a $1.6-million seed round raised a year ago through Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator and a group of venture capital firms and angel investors including Ashton Kutcher and Andreessen Horowitz.

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