An invitation-only dinner · Fall 2026 · Hickory Hill Ranch

The Fort Wayne Table

Open-fire lamb. A long table built for one night. Twenty seats — filled by five to seven groups of operators who wanted to be in the room together. Apply with two or three colleagues.

— of 20 seats remaining
Apply as a Group Redeem Invitation Code Speak at the Table Tell Me More

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.

  1. 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.

  2. 2

    Reviewed within 48 hours

    We read every application. We're looking for cohorts with something to say to each other — owners, operators, practitioners, capital.

  3. 3

    Accepted groups receive invitation codes

    One code per seat, each good for a single $150 non-refundable deposit to lock your spot. Codes arrive by email to the person who proposed the group.

  4. 4

    Balance invoiced 21 days before the event

    The remaining $1,100 is invoiced three weeks out. You have a week to pay; fully refundable until 14 days before the event. 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

$150 non-refundable deposit per seat at acceptance. Balance of $1,100 invoiced 21 days before the event; fully refundable until 14 days before.

— seats remaining
You (the proposer)
Your group

Name 1–3 colleagues you want at the table with you. Seat count includes you.

Why this group

We respond within 48 hours. No payment is collected at application. Accepted groups receive invitation codes by email; each code redeems for one seat with a $150 non-refundable deposit.

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 $150 non-refundable deposit.

Codes are not case-sensitive. One code, one seat.

You'll be redirected to a secure Stripe checkout. We charge $150 now to hold your seat; this deposit is non-refundable. The remaining $1,100 is invoiced 21 days before the event and is fully refundable until 14 days out. If we cancel the event for any reason, everything paid is refunded.

Speak at the table

Two short talks during dinner — five minutes each, no slides, no keynote. If you'd like to be considered as a speaker, tell us what you'd speak to and who you are. If we pick you, you attend as our guest — no deposit, no seat cost.

You
Your talk

We pick at most two speakers. If accepted, you attend as our guest. If not a fit for this dinner, we'll keep your proposal on file 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?
The $150 deposit is non-refundable — it reserves the seat, commissions your burn piece from Joe, and covers the sourcing lead time on lamb and sides. If we cancel the event for any reason, everything you've paid is refunded in full. The $1,100 balance is fully refundable up to 14 days before the event; inside 14 days it is non-refundable (supplies are ordered) but transferable to another named attendee in the same group up to 7 days out.
What is the take-home piece of the table, exactly?
A ~12 × 4 × 2-inch block 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. Sized for a desk — paperweight, pen tray, coaster, conversation piece.