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Du Jour Bakery Launches Kickstarter Campaign
Tuesday, August 7, 2012 at 12:22PM Getting a business up and running can be a lengthy, costly endeavor, and the husband and wife duo of T.J. and Vera Obias, who've been working for five months to get their project, Du Jour Bakery, off the ground, know that as well as any mom-and-pop shop owners. To help them finance the opening inventory (they've entered the home stretch and plan on opening by the end of the month) they've set up a campaign on Kickstarter, with some great perks for those who contribute.
T.J. and Vera are both highly accomplished pastry chefs, well-respected in the industry, and they'll be bringing their high-end creations to the space last occupied by Perch Cafe, on Fifth Avenue between Fifth and Sixth Streets. They'll be opening "more than just a bakery": "great coffee, baked goods, specialty cakes, brunch, lunch and eventually dinner" will be on offer, according to the Kickstarter page. More details about their backgrounds can be found here.
The minimum pledge is only $1, and there's no maximum. If you donate $10 you'll get a shoutout on their Facebook page, $30 gets you a cupcake and t-shirt, and the rewards just get better from there, going all the way up to $500: a bag filled with homemade goodies, a free daily coffee and pastry for a month, a pound of coffee beans, recipe cards, signed books, and a three-course dinner for up to four prepared by the chefs.
So far they've raised $5,000 of their $7K goal. Help these local folks out; you'll be well-rewarded!
Food, Storefronts
Reader Comments (19)
Really? It's called being an investor, but they're looking at this as charity. Anyone that donates should get something! A $1 should get you a cupcake, at least.
I wish for an old time Italian or Kosher bakery, even though i do wish them luck.
Sadly, the bakeries around here can't compare with the likes of Pearl Bakery or Little T Bakery in Portland.
I have an idea...why don't you open the bakery, and I'll show you my support by coming in and buying a cupcake?? I find this so ridiculous - did they not consider when they opted to rent a fairly large space in one of the more affluent neighborhoods in New York City that they'd need to pay for opening day inventory? Or have they just decided that if the hipsters of Brooklyn are happy to give charitable donations, why shouldn't they take their money. Shameful.
No one is being forced to give them money. And the "prizes" more than make up for the donation. This is a common way to garner support for a business and is completely optional. Not sure why you got your panties in a twist about it, operadiva. You don't want to give money, don't. For those who love to support our local businesses, we can give if we choose, but we will all get to reap the benefit of a what is hopefully a great new bakery. Their credentials look impressive to me.
I have my panties in a twist because I DO actively support businesses in Park Slope - with my shopping dollars. We visit new bakeries, we visit new take out options, we visit new purveyors of all sorts and recommend them if they are great. I support charities with my charitable dollars. This is a for-profit business, and frankly, I'm tired of everyone and their mother asking for money on kickstarter to buy a new dress or fund their child's dream birthday party. If they haven't accurately assessed how much it would cost to run a business in New York BEFORE they even open, what chance do they have of success? Their cooking credentials do look great, but clearly their business credentials are not, and it takes more than skill with pastry to make a successful business. How likely are people to place orders for birthday cakes weeks in advance or catering orders if the company is already showing they haven't thought ahead enough to budget for what they need to buy in order to open a few weeks from now?? Doesn't that seem like a bad impression to make with your potential customers? Or are they really just thinking, "shoot, if everyone else can get thousands of dollars through this kickstarter thing, why shouldn't we?" If that doesn't leave a bit of a sour taste in your mouth, stjohns, well, we disagree.
Basically they're selling $30 cupcakes.
Remember when Applewood wanted $15,000 to buy animals for their farm?
Banks invest in those businesses for a return. I support businesses by buying goods, my return.
What if you have a lot of talent (in this case baking skills) but don't have a lot of cash. In NYC, you need to go through so many hoops to open a small business that MANY times you have to pay months and months of rent on a space while you're waiting on permits, etc. I'm not giving them a pass, but NYC has to be one of the most difficult places to open a business and if this one needs an extra 7K to get them started, so be it. Kickstarter has been an incredible way to help small businesses get off their feet. Once it's up and running, this place will be giving jobs to the neighborhood, tax income as well as delicious baked goods. I guess I just know how difficult it can be and all the unforeseen things that come up. It's terrifying when you're paying months and months of rent and haven't been able to open because a contractor suddenly quit or a NYC permit didn't come in on time. I just have a little more compassion and think that whatever means necessary, we should be promoting new businesses. If someone wants to give them 50 bucks, let them.
Lots of people like donating to kickstarter because then they feel they are a part of the new business. I think it's a wonderful thing. Littleneck did it and now they are a really successful place about to open up a 2nd restaurant.
I.......actually think this is a creative idea. Good for them. Starting up a business is damn hard, except if you're one of the obvious Fortune 500 execs commenting above. I hope they're able to surpass their goal, write down some of these screen names up here, and serve them a nice big turd cupcake to the face when they try to walk in the door.
operadiva: BOOM! turd cupcake.
englebert: BOOM! kosher Italian turd cupcake
and so on....
Another bakery? Wow, that's a really well thought out idea.
Ah, but a good bakery, now that would be a well thought out idea...
How about opening a bakery that bakes real bread and not just dessert?
So, The Original Mick, let's say EVERY retail location along 5th Ave and 7th decided to ask for money, whether to raise capital to start operations or just to maintain operations. You see nothing wrong with this? As someone said above, it's just bad business.
If i started a kickstarter page, just because, will you donate to it? it will help me, which in turn will help the neighborhood.
with nothing in return as a simple cupcake for donating a $1 (the cost of the cupcake is nothing, it's the overhead that's building the price of baked goods) it's called charity. Charity should go to those that need to it, not a place that's going to sell a $5 cup of coffee.
Personally I like to slip the owner of Big Nose Full Body $20 now and then.
Remember when everyone didn't HAVE to voice their opinion about EVERYTHING? If you don't like something, DON'T support it. It's that simple. So much negative energy in the world already, and you take time to crap on something that has nothing to do with you if you so choose.
You're rubbing off on me with your awful frame of mind because I kind of want to slap you naysayers.
So I wonder if I were to give $100 and go in there every day for my free cup of coffee how many days it would take for them to treat me like a shameless freeloader.
I support the arts through Kickstarter and Indiegogo because I'm generous. For example, I just donated $70 to see a gifted photojournalist complete a not-for-proft project. I also donated $10 so that a certain pinball machine could be licensed and produced - in exchange for a copy (call it a pre-sale).
I think it's very misguided for a community to donate to an individual so that the individual can profit off of the community.
They either need to save like Kat Dennings or find an investor - someone who sees their vision and gets a return.
Talde has behind-the-scenes investors. Those individuals or trusts participate in the profits.
You have to earn what you get in this life. You can't just stick your hand out and ask to be given a golden ticket.
Your slap comment Mr/Ms Up is annoyingly childish. How much are you giving?
I'd like to be a silent investor in a profitable, beloved local business for a modest return. I have a lot of money in the bank. You'd never know it by looking at me. Anyone got any ideas?
And if you're going to donate money to anything shouldn't cupcakes be the very last thing on your list?
Mr. Furly,
So glad you are willing to take time out of your busy day to share your lengthy opinions with us. The point of my paragraph is to show that almost every post commenting on a blog is negative. You're already creating an imaginary situation in your head where they treat you like rubbish after you get three cups of coffee. What if they were lovely and wonderful to you? Clearly, you're a pessimist and it isn't worth trying to sway you. I've got a better solution than that: I just won't read them.
Your Neighbor.
I'm a hungry man with a heart of gold looking for a local restauranteur to support me with baked or fried goods in exchange for good karma and playtime with my dogs.
Your point is stupid. You should know that people only comment to complain. Are you really trying to change a medium. Did the hippies get up in Sproul Plaza and vocalize their content with all their hippy shit? No, they were mad as hell and needed to vocalize their opinion.
Your instruction to 'shut up, Mr. Up, is simply unAmerican. Would you like us to bury all our discontents?
The debate here is exactly how tacky it is to solicit donations on Kickstarter for commercial endeavors.
And how stupid you are to donate unless you're getting laid by one or more of the people involved.
My imaginary situation was a hypothetical question, silly.
It's not just about this bakery. It's a bigger issue, of course.
Read up and shut up.
http://www.linkedin.com/answers/startups-small-businesses/small-business/STR_SMB/1033235-82259801