Entrepreneurial Hospitality: How Fourth-Generation Restaurateur Alex Canter Became a Tech Mogul

4 Min Read By Adam Guild

Sometimes it’s easy to pinpoint where the entrepreneurial spark catches fire. For Alex Canter, it was at a spot in his family-run restaurant nicknamed “The War Zone.”The space earned that moniker because staff used it to handle delivery orders from a multitude of online platforms. For them, it had become a logistical nightmare. For Canter, it was a problem to be solved. In the process, he built a company now worth nearly $100 million, simply by solving a problem he noticed as a restaurant owner and sharing that solution with others.

The 27-year-old grew up in Canter's Restaurant, which has been a Los Angeles institution since 1931 and even immortalized in a scene from "Mad Men." His great grandfather started the eatery and his father has worked there for years. Canter was given the nickname “Mini Patron” and began waiting tables at an early age. 

At just 17, he was named director of business development and the role suited him, as he was interested in looking…