Either through an email from a friend hoping to buy an underwater robot or a Facebook post by that ex-coworker wanting to film a documentary about pirates, you’ve probably heard of Kickstarter by now. Since 2009, according to Kickstarter’s website, “over $350 million has been pledged by more than 2.5 million people, funding more than 30,000 creative projects.” As a backer making a pledge, besides those warm, fuzzy feelings of altruism, the best part about donating is that the risk is minimized. If the Kickstarter doesn’t make its goal during the allotted time (up to 60 days), you don’t pay. Additionally, under Kickstarter’s terms of use, creators are required to make good on all rewards promised or refund any backers whose rewards they can’t fulfill.
While it’s inspiring to read stories about aspiring entrepreneurs from around the country, lately, we’ve been most excited about Kickstarters in the St. Louis area, particularly those in our favorite form: the edible. Marcoot Jersey Creamery, a local cheese maker, recently needed a commercial cheese press in order to expand its repertoire. Thanks to Kickstarter, Marcoot met its goal last month, and now we can look forward to traditional cheddars and colby cheese. Also noteworthy is the board game Viticulture. Based on creating and expanding a vineyard in Tuscany, Viticulture combines strategy with a love of wine. From Stonemaier Games, a local company, Viticulture blew through its fundraising goal of $25,000 to rake in more than $65,000. Last year, John Perkins of Entre: underground and Events by Entre also successfully used a Kickstarter-esque approach in order to fund a new hood for an event space kitchen.
One of the latest local Kickstarters making us salivate is Tikka Tikka Taco. Brothers Michael and Shaun Swaleh are looking to bring modernized Indian street food (pictured) to the people of St. Louis. But first they need a food truck. Depending on whether they buy a new or used truck, the amount of money and time they will need before hitting the streets will vary. However, with The Sausage Syndicate’s ready-to-roll truck newly on the market, if the Swaleh’s reach their goal of $60,000 within the next 10 days, their future food truck purchase might just happen faster than they ever imagined. But time is running out. Check out Tikka Tikka Taco’s Kickstarter and catch the KTVI-Fox2 news segment for more information.
With these increasing opportunities for locals to garner attention and support for their creative edible ideas, we have even more assurance that the future of the St. Louis food scene will continue to be bright.
This article appears in October 2012.