One night. One long table built by a Fort Wayne woodworker, set for twenty. Lamb roasted over open fire by a local chef trained in his Greek family's tradition. The other nineteen people are operators you wanted to be in a room with — because you proposed the group.
What your seat includes
Whole-lamb roast over open fire
Slow-cooked all afternoon by Tom, a local chef trained in his Greek family's tradition. Sides are built around the table and scaled to the room.
A seat at the Burn Table
A one-of-one solid-hardwood long table built in Fort Wayne by Joe, a local woodworker. Your name and seat number are burned into your section the day before.
A piece of the table to take home
After the main course, your section of the table is unlocked from the base and handed to you — a hand-crafted slab of solid Indiana hardwood with your name, your seat number, and the date. Built to outlive the evening.
A curated whiskey flight
Paired wine and non-alcoholic options, all poured by a licensed mobile bar. No tipping — the bar program is part of the seat.
Two or three short remarks
Speakers chosen for the cohorts in the room, not the other way around. No keynote. No slides. No badges.
Professional table service
Wait staff recruited from Fort Wayne's best dining rooms. Climate-controlled tent, on-site luxury restrooms, ambient lighting, heaters — the pasture is the view, not the experience.
Door-to-ranch transport, on us
We'll arrange a car from your door and a shuttle back — just ask when you're accepted. The ranch is a working farm, not a Google Maps pin.
How the room gets built
We seat the room as cohorts, not strangers. You tell us who you want at your end of the table. We tell you whether we can seat the group.
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1
Apply with your group
Propose yourself and one to three colleagues. One sentence on the group — why these people, in this room, this fall.
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Reviewed within 48 hours
We read every application. We're looking for cohorts with something to say to each other — owners, operators, practitioners, capital.
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Accepted groups receive invitation codes
One code per seat, each good for a single $100 deposit to lock your spot. Codes arrive by email to the person who proposed the group.
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4
Balance invoiced 14 days before the event
The remaining $1,150 is invoiced two weeks out. The room is set. The table is built. The seating chart goes to Joe.
Groups we can't seat this fall become the invitation list for the next event — not a waitlist.
Apply as a group
$2,000 per seat
$1,250 Founders' seating — Fall 2026 only
$100 deposit per seat at acceptance. Balance of $1,150 invoiced 14 days before the event.
Already accepted?
If your group has been accepted, the proposer received a list of invitation codes — one per seat. Enter yours below to lock your seat with a $100 deposit.
All twenty seats are taken
The first dinner is full. Join the next-event list — you'll be first to know when applications open for the next one.
Not ready to apply?
Drop your email. We'll send the menu, the speaker list, and a quiet note when applications open for the next event. No newsletter blast — only the things you'd actually want sent to you.
Plain answers
- What does a seat include?
- Everything in the "What your seat includes" list above — the meal, the bar, the speakers, the service, and the hand-crafted piece of the table you take home. Also door-to-ranch transport at our cost for any accepted guest who wants it.
- Why $1,250 and not $2,000?
- Year-one founders' pricing. The cost of hosting this dinner at its long-run quality is about $2,000 per seat; we're running the first event below that to build the room. Year-two pricing will reflect the full cost. If you're at this first one, you're part of why the second one happens.
- Can I apply as an individual?
- We occasionally seat solo applicants who fit an existing cohort. Use the Apply form with group size "2" and tell us in the pitch what room you'd want to be in — we'll match you or hold your application for the next event.
- How do you decide which groups get in?
- Fit with the other cohorts in the room, diversity of industries, and whether your group has something to say to the table. This is curation, not a lottery.
- When is it?
- A Friday or Saturday evening in late September or early October 2026. The exact date is set once the room is half-full with accepted groups.
- Where is it?
- Hickory Hill Ranch in DeKalb County, about 20 miles northeast of downtown Fort Wayne. Precise address sent on acceptance.
- Who's behind it?
- Hickory Hill Ranch LLC (Fort Wayne area, established 2021) hosts. Our chef is a local cook trained in his Greek family's tradition of fire-roasting lamb. Our lamb comes from a small-batch local producer. Our table is built by a Fort Wayne woodworker. Three local hands, one table, twenty seats.
- Is alcohol included?
- Yes. A licensed mobile bar provides the whiskey program and wine. Non-alcoholic options available. No tipping — it's part of the seat.
- Dietary needs?
- Ask. We can accommodate — just note it in your application pitch or tell us after acceptance.
- Dress?
- Whatever you'd wear to a good dinner with friends.
- Refunds?
- Full refund if we cancel for any reason. Cancel more than 14 days out: full deposit refund. Within 14 days: deposit forfeited (the lamb and sides have been ordered).
- What is the take-home piece of the table, exactly?
- A ~14 × 24 × 2-inch section of solid Indiana hardwood (white oak or walnut, same for the whole table that year), with your name, seat number, and the date burned into the top. Food-safe finish. Built to be used.