You’ve heard the stories of the amazing perks now being offered to employees of tech companies, from massages to paid vacations to free lunches. Not to be outdone by its big-company rivals, Seattle startup HasOffers just opened a new kitchen area and hang-out space a block away from its headquarters in a former Belltown bar.
The quirky space, formerly the Twilight cocktail lounge, will double as both a meeting space and kitchen area where employees can gather for free lunches, meetings and other activities. HasOffers made some news last year when it hired Chris Blanco as the company chef, mirroring the likes of Google and other larger tech companies that have personal on-site chefs.
Now, in the new space, Blanco will have a lot more room to whip up his creations, and keep the HasOffers’ troops well fed. In addition to free lunches for staffers, Blanco says that he’s looking forward to hosting events, parties and tech meetups. He’s even working on a program where employees and other community members can pick up fresh produce each week from Oxbow Organic Farm.
“It’s been amazing to experience how quickly this idea became reality,” said Blanco. “Coming to HasOffers from outside of the start-up world, I’m continually impressed by the accelerated evolution of not just our product, but of all kinds of creative additions to improve the lives of our staff.”
HasOffers also getting a lot out of the new space, not to mention the crafty creations of Blanco.
“Since his beginning at HasOffers, (Chris) has made a massive impact on our culture, inspiring a healthy food culture with fresh ingredients as well as bringing an outrageously positive attitude,” said HasOffers CEO Peter Hamilton.
Blanco may have more mouths to feed in the near future. HasOffers, which provides online tools to manage affiliate marketing programs, is growing fast. It currently employs 79 people and plans to top 100 employees by the end of the year.
HasOffers was one of the finalists in the GeekWire Awards in the Perk of the Year category, but lost out to SEOMoz which provides a $3,000 vacation stipend to employees.
With the new kitchen in the mix, HasOffers may be making a play to win the category outright next year.
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