Benjamin’s Desk: coworking spot soft launches with new tenants Curalate, Uber, Zokos

Benjamin’s Desk co-founder naval officer Lt. Michael Maher inside the Rittenhouse coworking spot back in February.

Benjamin’s Desk, the Rittenhouse Square coworking spot, is just about open for business.

The space soft launches August 1, when it will welcome three tenants: Pinterest analytics firm Curalate, the local arm of car service Uber and Zokos, the startup pegged as “Kickstarter for dinner parties.”

The new tenants, who will work in Benjamin’s Desk’s three private office spaces, have varying degrees of presence in Philly.

It will be Zokos’ first official space in Philly, says co-founder Brad Baer.

He previously split his time between Philly, where he lives, and New York, where Zokos is headquartered. Baer will work full time out of Benjamin’s Desk along with two part-time Zokos staffers. The startup will keep its New York office, where the rest of the nine-person team works, Baer says.

Curalate and Uber both felt they outgrew their current spaces, and with their growth plans, this stop may be short-lived too.

Right now, the three-person Uber Philly team works out of accelerator Seed Philly, says community manager Meagan Norman. Curalate’s staff of seven works out of Venmo’s former office in Rittenhouse Square.

Benjamin’s Desk co-founder Jennifer Maher says the spot’s open desk space is one-third full and that management is in talks with other potential tenants. The grand opening party will be after Labor Day, Maher says. Construction delays pushed back their original springtime launch.