The group re opening the iconic Goldfish Tavern has been working since September to get opened as The Defiant Goldfish. They are working with Community Sourced Capital, a lender that have special relationship with the City of Tacoma. They need your help, in the form of a $50 Micro Loan, to get the last stage of funding needed to be open by the Taste of Tacoma in June.
Tacoma, WA, April 22, 2015 (Newswire.com) - In early September, the Goldfish Tavern, closed and in disrepair, thought it had found it's shining knight. Business partners Corey Webb and Adam Dopps had signed a lease and were going to remodel and re open the Goldfish Tavern as The Defiant Goldfish. That is still the plan.
They have found a lot of obstacles along the way, but say that the city hasn't been one of them. "The city has been great. They want this place open as bad as anyone" said Corey Webb, the Operating Partner in The Defiant Goldfish. "The main obstacle is money." They need to raise $18,000.00 through there fund-raising, which will be matched by Craft3, for a total of a $36,000.00 zero interest loan. That is the amount they need to finish construction and get open. They have currently raised a little over $6,000.00 and are 1/3rd of the way there with 3 weeks to go.
"Between what our Kickstarter backers provided, and my wife's salary, we have invested about $50,000.00 since last summer. I would surely hate to see that all go to waste if we don't get this last push of funding."
Adam Dopps, Managing Member
They are raising funds for the completion of the project by getting $50 micro loans from their supporters through Community Sourced Capital. They had run a successful Kickstarter campaign in November, and although they raised enough to get started, build-out costs have dramatically increased above projections due to the condition and age of the building and its systems, such as electrical, plumbing and roof.
"We are raising the last funds we need through CSC, and then those funds will be matched with a zero interest loan through Craft3. Both of these lenders work with the City of Tacoma to help businesses get loans, that for one reason or another, do not qualify for conventional funding. Since we still have two abandoned fuel tanks in the ground from back in the 40's when this place was a gas station, we do not qualify for conventional funding" said Dopps. "Our business plan has us saving enough money once we are open to be able to remove the tanks in the spring of our second year. We will be able to set aside enough for a down payment and purchase the property and building in year three. But we need to get open first."
"I was standing outside the Goldfish yesterday, and a kid from SAMI, the Science & Math Institute over at the zoo, walked up to me and said ""So whats the deal here? Are you guys actually opening? If you are, as what? Are you the same guys that have been trying to open this place since last summer?"" "Yes, and yes," Dopps responded "as a family friendly beer and wine bistro that open's 7 days a week at 7 am as a coffee house serving Defiant Goldfish branded coffee and espresso and fresh pastries from Corina Bakery." The student said "Cool, you mean I will be able to come here? Awesome, but I gotta get to class" and he jogged of across the street.
The Defiant Goldfish is set to open in early June. It will be a family friendly bistro style restaurant, with a full pizza menu, serving wine and beer. They plan to focus on the Tacoma area Craft Breweries and Washington State Wineries. It was a Tavern before, which meant “no minors.” It is re-opening as a restaurant, so it will be able to allow families with children in the restaurant up until 8 pm. “We just bought our espresso machine and coffee equipment, so we are ready for the 7 am caffeine crowd” said Adam Dopps. "Since Corey and I have been in the Pizza Business for what seems like forever, this is perfect."
"Between what our Kickstarter backers provided, and my wife's salary, we have invested about $50,000.00 since last summer. I would surely hate to see that all go to waste if we don't get this last push of funding." Dopps said. "The cool thing about these micro loans is they are not donations, they are loans. You get paid back. Once we open, we start paying them back over 24 months. They will have their money back and North Tacoma will have it's Goldfish back. We are at about $6,000.00 towards our required amount of $18,000, so it will come down to the last $12,000.00. If the people who support this tavern want it to re open, we will raise the funds. If we are unable to reach that last $12,000.00, well, you know what happens. We all have to take our ball and go home. I hope that doesn't happen. I love this place."
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