Saves me money!!! Radical Eats owner Staci Davis has taken to Kickstarter — and this woozy video — to raise money to add a water filtration system, better air conditioning, and a beer and wine license to her new vegan Mexican restaurant location at 3903 Fulton St., just north of Moody Park. Davis, who jettisoned plans to work out of the kitchen at the Heights Ashbury Coffeehouse after only a few weeks there, took over the former Kiko’s Mexican Cafe location just before the July 4th holiday. So far, she’s raised $325 of $8,000 she hopes to net for improvements to the Radical Eats Cafe. What will you get for your contribution, besides — if the target is reached — the ability to buy and drink a meat-and-dairy-free cold one on site? For $5, a written thank-you note and a hug at each visit. For $500: a dish at the restaurant named after you or your organization, a few more goodies, and a custom-made hula hoop.
- Radical Eats Beer and Wine Garden [Kickstarter]
- A vegan Mexican restaurant with a beer garden and a killer brunch? Staci Davis gets Radical [Culturemap]
- Radical Eats Cafe – Comida Vegetariana [Radical Eats]
- Previously on Swamplot: Here Comes That 19th St. “Hippie Vibeâ€: Radical Eats Opening in Heights Ashbury Coffeehouse
Video: Kickstarter
That’s a transitional area and she might need some hang time to make it. I’ll definitely give it a try. Cafe Flores tried something similar near Idylwood on the East End and I’m guessing it’s been a struggle. The strategy could work well though if the local hispanics discover and love the food. Healthy food (forget vegan) is hard to find in those nabes.
The owner is one of my neighbors, the shop is right around the corner, and she has put in some Serious work on this run down hole. DanaX you are right, if they can hang for a few years, there will be a rail stop, Moody Park Station, literally dropping people off at her door step. Whether they will come in for Mexican-vegan fare and beer remains to be seen, but the food is excellent for non-vegans and vegans alike, a nice yin to Taco Nazo’s yang a few doors down, which is legendary in the greater meat loving Hispanic community.
I need to check this place out ASAP! This place sounds right up my alley. Plus, I love to meet people as excited about this neighborhod as I am.
I stopped reading at “vegan”.
Yeah I am with you carnivore.
Can’t wait to try this place! I am not a vegan by any means, but good food is good food – whether it contains meat or not!
Also, in a time when it’s incredibly difficult for small business owners to secure funding through traditional sources, it’s awesome that savvy ones are turning to Kickstarter to crowd source improvements. It gives people the opportunity to invest in businesses they believe in!
As a fellow carnivore, I can say that I was a tad leery trying the tamales. However, I can attest that they are quite yummy. I keep about 20 of them in my freezer to pull out as appetizers when friends show up. The kitchen is also kosher, I think.
It’s ridiculous, especially after the TARP bailout that we paid 850 billion for, that a national bank in her community hasn’t made low cost business loans of under 10K available and affordable. They should be hawking those loans in funny costumes like the gold buyers out on Westheimer. But failing that (and haven’t the bankers truly failed us?), then this sort of renovation looks tailor-made for a community funded urban improvement bank that’s modeled on the micro-lending practices that are prevalent in the Third World.
On the other hand, if she can get a bunch of people to simply give her the money via Kickstarter, why bother with a loan?