(Bloomberg) -- At 7 a.m. on a recent morning, Simon Collins wasat his office in New York making a video call to China.

The fashion consultant was about to launch into his plans for anupcoming conference he’s organizing before his overseas colleagueinterrupted: “Are you in your grandmother’s dining room?”

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He was actually at Public, a dimly lit restaurant withdark oak tables and vintage décor located in New York City’s trendyNolita neighborhood.

The Michelin star eatery undergoes a transformation each morninginto a co-working space for freelancers and other professionals.

A network of five such restaurant-office hybrids is run by alocal startup called Spacious Inc., which is finding a niche amongpeople looking for a place to work that’s cheaper than WeWork butquieter and more reliable than a Starbucks.

Spacious is one of several new businesses with an unusual twiston co-working. The model of converting dining rooms or bars intoshared offices is attractive to restaurant owners because it offersa new source of revenue during the work day, when their spaces areusually left dormant.

It’s especially appealing to the food-service industry, whichhas seen its already-low margins squeezed. “Walking by a coffeeshop and seeing everybody piled on top of each other, and seeing abeautiful empty restaurant next door—it just seemed to be a naturalfit,” said Preston Pesek, co-founder and chief executive officer ofSpacious.

Co-working spaces, where people rent desks and offices alongsideother freelance or satellite workers, have become aglobal sensation, led by WeWork Cos. The New York-based company wasvalued at more than $17 billion last month after an investment fromSoftBank Group Corp.

WeWork provides members with free snacks and access to in-officebeer kegs. It has 162 office locations in 41 cities around theworld.

WeWork’s hometown is one of the world’s co-working capitals.Commercial real estate devoted to co-working in New York City hasgrown fivefold in the past five years, according to Jonathan Mazur,managing director at real estate firm Newmark Grubb KnightFrank.

The city, with its high concentration of restaurants and bars,offers plenty of options for Spacious and its rivals, such asWorkEatPlay and KettleSpace.

But similar businesses are starting up in Austin, Texas, and TelAviv. They typically don’t offer as many perks as WeWork butprovide members with speedy Wi-Fi, printers, office supplies andcoffee. Subscriptions range from $95 to $110, which is about halfthe cost of a desk at WeWork.

Daniel Rubin, CEO of Israel’s Pub Hub, said he’s opened onelocation and is scouting more than a dozen bars in the country’stech hub of Tel Aviv. But he said finding one that can make itselflook presentable to working professionals every morning is achallenge: “Not every bar is great for co-working.”

Working someplace with a fully stocked bar has its perks.

Shaina Forman, a 28-year-old brand strategist, shuts her laptopat 5 p.m. when DBGB Kitchen and Bar on Manhattan’s Lower East Sideopens to the public. Then she’ll sometimes partake in the $1oysters and drink specials. “We get a text at the end of the daysaying it’s time for happy hour,” she said.

Because Spacious uses mostly high-end restaurants, it doesn’thave to worry about cleaning up a mess from the night before.Cheryl Clements, who founded and runs a crowdfunding website calledPieShell that’s aimed at food and beverage entrepreneurs, saidSpacious allows her to get a rare taste of fine dining, even ifit’s during off-hours.

She often works from La Sirena in Chelsea, which is owned bycelebrity chef Mario Batali. “You walk out of here and go to thewashroom, and the orange Croc wonder is standing there doing acommercial, and you’re like, ‘Oh, yeah. Hi!’” Clements said.

Collins, the fashion consultant, also likes the upscale digs, inspite of the mockery from his Chinese colleague. As Collins toldhim over video chat recently, the vibe helps him portray a certainstatus to clients. “This is a really cool restaurant downtown thatpeople struggle to get into, and we get in early,” he said. “Ifilmed an interview with a Chinese network in the wine room atPublic. It’s a long, beautiful room filled with wine.”

But due to the high turnover in the restaurant industry,your favorite location may not stick around forever. Collinswas bummed to learn recently that Public lost its lease and willshut down in June.

He’ll relocate to La Sirena or another Spacious location, hesaid: “Always sad to see a good restaurant go though.”

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