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If some guy from Ohio can raise $55,000 online for a bowl of potato salad, then how about $100,000 for a couple who want to grow their bootstrapped Latin comfort food business?
That's part of the thinking behind a kickstarter campaign from Jason and Alicia Bolden, owners of Sofrito Mama's in Sarasota. The couple opened the take-out only restaurant, in a 520-square-foot space in a Publix shopping center off Fruitville Road, in 2012. Money from the first few days of sales were to groceries for the next week. With a menu built around empanadas and plantains, the restaurant has since developed something of a cult following among construction workers and others who have discovered the gem.
The Boldens now seek to capitalize on an opportunity to expand: A dine-in pizza joint with a full-service kitchen in the same strip center closed, and the 2,100-square-foot space is available. The couple has spoken with several bankers about loans to aid the expansion, but nothing has come to fruition. Jason Bolden says his biggest worry is the first six months of payroll and other overhead in the new place. “At this point,” Bolden tells Coffee Talk, “we don't have all the working capital we need.”
Bolden, who has also met with several potential investor/partners, decided to give online crowdfunding a shot to cover the shortfall. He launched a kickstarter page in February, with a target raise of $108,000. Rewards for pledges range from an empanada and a drink for at least $16 and a catering package for 10 people for at least $300. The owners also plan to use their own savings to cover expansion costs.
The first month of the kickstarter campaign was slow: It had $629 and 12 supporters through March 12 of the all-or-nothing effort. Nothing like Zach Brown of Ohio pulled off in 2014, when a hokey kickstarter fund to raise $10 to make potato salad turned viral, and hauled in $55,000.
Bolden is undaunted, saying the success of Sofrito Mama's is motivation for more for he and his wife. “If it happens, that would be great,” he says. “If it doesn't, it won't stop us.”
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