Pepe Marshall

Newtown in Sydney is soon to become the site of Australia's first vegan sushi cafe. A family business created by a mother and son team. Our plant based sushi concept came about when, we were unable to find sushi that was cruelty free, healthy and enjoyable.

For the last six months we have had stalls at the organic farmers markets and vegan events. We have had a ball, met some creative amazing people and fed lots of people both vegans and avid meat eaters. Plant based eating has so many benefits for your health , the environment and of course the animals.

Our founding aim is to assist people in making the choice to adopt a cruelty free lifestyle. Food needs to be yum to eat but before that we eat with our eyes. Plant based, or vegan food has previously been thought of as boring, which fortunately is changing. We aim to seduce people by making our food both delicious and visually spectacular.

Embarking on a crowdfunding project was a difficult decision as starting our business is such a personal journey. For us crowd funding is about building the crowd. We are a little company with a huge goal and a determination to alter perceptions of vegan food one sushi roll at a time. As part of our crowd we will get to know you and you will be with us on this path. This is a  relationship that is much more than the extra money we need. We want to form friendships and fans and offer you the very best organic healthy and fun food that we can.

 

So we have done the business plan, budgeted for the store, found the location, done the market research and got our heads around the legal framework- phew! Construction is underway and we are nearly there,  It is vital for us to have new equipment that has never been used for meat. This is a costly exercise and the funds we are seeking to raise will enable us to purchase rather than hire this much needed equipment. Equipment is REALLY exxy. The actual costs are below . Our crowdfunding will help pay for some of this, but not all, but we just wanted to show you whats involved.

Four door fridge bench                 $2,800
Two door underbench fridge        $   850
Buffet chiller and cabinet              $4,200
Cabinetry                                        $3,600
Dishwasher                                     $3,100
Double glass door fridge              $ 2,200
Bar freezer                                      $   500
Benches                                          $2,000
Kitchen and cooking equipment    $8,300 (Vitamix, dehydrator, ice machine, food processor etc)
Fees for Pozzible                             $1,200

We have overcome most of the obvious hurdles such as Heritage and Council regulations. We need friendly reliable staff, who are either Vegan or making that change. Money has been invested in technology which will hopefully take the guess factor away from running a retail store but lets face it there will be challenges but we are up for it!