kickstarter for kevin sousa's new restaurant in braddock (Pittsburgh, McKees Rocks: home, neighborhoods)

[selltheburgh]

I pledged. I ran into him last night and he's hopeful and said the first day was about what he expected.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by greg42

Sousa's fans seem to follow him anywhere so far.

Don't disagree, but, like I said, how many restaurants can make it without daily walk-up biz?

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by Copanut

Don't disagree, but, like I said, how many restaurants can make it without daily walk-up biz?

This proposed beanery in the 1200 block of Braddock- that would put it adjacent to the community's largest employer, the ET Works.

[SteelCityRising]

From the article:

"People who get it, get it," he added. "Those who don't, don't."

Ugh. I'm so sick of Pittsburgh turning into this city where a growing number of people are becoming smug self-righteous radical hipster elitists who put down others who are "beneath" them for not being "progressive" enough to enjoy drinking tofu birch beer while riding a Schwinn and listening to NPR. How is crowdsourcing a "progressive" concept? Sounds to me like Sousa wasn't able to secure private financing and is now begging the public to finance his restaurant for him via an overly-dramatic "all or nothing" scheme. I truly do hope he does well, and I wish him nothing but the best---for Braddock's sake. With that being said, though, the East End just since I moved here three years ago is becoming home to more and more of these "enlightened" types who enjoy nothing more than bragging about how "ahead of the curve" they are as they talk about the plight of third-world countries while driving around in their BMWs. This quote really struck a nerve with me because it sounds so arrogant and out-of-touch.

It seems like if you concoct a paragraph that includes buzz words like "free-range"; "food truck"; "organic"; "locally-sourced"; "bike lane", "ahead of the curve"; "people who get it"; and "progressive" then you're a true Pittsburgher these days. I'm not pining for the yinzers to overtake the city with their beer-swigging, belching, foul-mouths, parking chairs, Steelers pajama pants in public, etc. ambiance; however, why do we have to go from one extreme (urban redneck) to the other (a more "enlightened" version of Portlandia?) What about regular middle-class types who don't fit either mold? Can someone enjoy eating at one of Sousa's restaurants without caring about the backstory of the seed that sprouted the blade of grass that was consumed by the cattle that provided me with my burger?

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

This proposed beanery in the 1200 block of Braddock- that would put it adjacent to the community's largest employer, the ET Works.

Great, I hope it works out.

[Geeo]

Best of luck to him in getting this off the ground. He goes where others fear to tread, including the banks (who are not really known for innovation or lending to distressed neighborhoods).

[CaptainPittsburgh]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

I did read through his kickstarter statement and I really didn't see it. However, I did see a statement that said something like banks haven't historically lent money to Braddock.

Well, at the end of it, he wrote:

"Through Kickstarter, YOU DECIDE, not the banks, and that is exactly how we want it."

I'm taking that to mean that they don't want to open the place in Braddock unless they can get people to pony up the support/money to make it happen. Like, for them it potentially feels less risky if a bunch of people get on board up front than it would to get a bank loan and hope for the best.

I could be making bad inferences, though, haha. It's definitely risky either way.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Geeo

Best of luck to him in getting this off the ground. He goes where others fear to tread, including the banks (who are not really known for innovation or lending to distressed neighborhoods).

Actually, PNC, for how much ill-will I harbor towards it due to the low compensation paid to its front-line employees, has a great track record of reinvesting in distressed and/or underprivileged communities and neighborhoods. I'm surprised they weren't willing to loan him money.

[selltheburgh]

This makes sense because it gets people in the door. He probably needs 4,000 people to pledge.

Also - a Schwinn? Wrong century dude.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Sounds to me like Sousa wasn't able to secure private financing and is now begging the public to finance his restaurant for him via an overly-dramatic "all or nothing" scheme

That doesn't make sense to me- I can't see why regular financing wouldn't be available.

This gentleman has a good track record for restaurants and seems like he should have assets that he could pledge to the bank as collateral.