Hallie Meyer founded and still runs Caffè Panna herself: she signed the original Gramercy lease in her own name in 2019 and holds the trademark through her own LLC, with no investor or outside financing on record. Her father is restaurateur Danny Meyer, but Caffè Panna doesn't appear in his Enlightened Hospitality Investments fund's portfolio (which backs Joe Coffee and Dig, both on this site) or any USHG material, and he has said his role was limited to advice. It's a small, two-location shop with a thin labor and environmental record so far, run by the one owner who still shows up to it.