The Counter
"This is a story of boy meets girl - but you should know upfront - this is not a love story."
Our story is a simple one. Meg and Ian met while working at a catering company in Johannesburg, South Africa and became friends. We won't bore you with the details, but roughly five years later, something magical happened. (Cheesy!)
I (Meg) started selling food at a very small market in Jozi in 2011 and slowly started realising my dream of opening up a restaurant. Ian offered to help me and together, we moved to bigger and better food markets - quickly making a name for ourselves. The Counter was born.
Our Food
Our food is simple. It is made with love. (Again with the cheese?!) It is made using amazing ingredients. It is just delicious. Really. It is.
We currently have a stall at Market on Main in the Jozi CBD - an artisan market showcasing some of the city's best talent. We've been at the market for nearly two years and have built up the most amazing fan base ever.
Some of our favourite menu items include our gourmet burgers (well-known in Jozi - many say the BEST burger in Jozi), our chocolate brownies (super famous in South Africa - definitely the best brownies on earth), our 'sex-in-your-mouth' salted caramel sauce (true story), homemade marshmallows and Rocky Road Bars.
We also love our earth - we recycle, use biodegradable packaging for all of our products and are as green as we possibly can be.
Our food is incredible, even if we do say so ourselves. Have a look at our restaurant menu in the Gallery section...
If you know me, you will know that food is my life. This is where all of you come in.
We Need You
For two years, we have worked full-time at a catering company and run The Counter on the side. Working nights and most weekends to achieve what I have been dreaming of since I was nine years old. I want to open up a restaurant serving delicious, simple food that has been made using locally-sourced ingredients and the best organic and free-range produce. I think our food speaks for itself and our passion is almost tangible.
But opening up a restaurant is expenisve work. And as they say - money doesn't grow on trees. I am the kind of person who would rather work my fingers to the bone than ask for help (especially help in the form of money) but when a friend introduced me to Indie GoGo, I fell in love with the idea.
Why Help Us?
Like I said - out story is a simple one. WE LOVE FOOD.
You should help us if...
- You love food.
- You love people who are passionate.
- You've ever had a dream.
- You believe in us. (I know a lot of you who do - thank you.)
- You love crazy people. (Good crazy, not slit-your-throat-crazy.)
- You love an effing good burger.
- Brownies make you drool.
- Salted caramel sauce makes you weak in the knees.
- You have spare cash floating around, waiting for a good cause.
- You're 'green'. (Not literally.)
- You follow us on Twitter.
- You want a cool perk.
- YOU LOVE THE COUNTER. (I'm shouting because I'm excited.)
Where Will Your Money Go?
We need to install expensive things in our kitchens, like industrial ovens, extraction fans, giant mixers etc. Get certificates so we can serve you amazing food and delicious craft beer and boutique wine. Spend a small penny on furniture (which will be made almost entirely from reclaimed wood) and cutesy decor. Make the place look pretty, but most of all - be practical. I would also LOVE to have a small greenhouse on the property - but again - these things cost money.
Your contribution will go towards basically building The Counter from the ground up. (Right now, we can afford one oven. WHOOP!)
Every cent counts. Every share on Facebook counts. Every retweet on Twitter counts.
What Will You Get Out of This?
Have a look at our perks - pick the one that suits you the best and gets you excited. Some are small and silly, others are pretty cool.
Over and above those perks, you'll have the perk of knowing that you made my dream come true. I have literally wanted this for over twenty years. The thought of owning my own restaurant excites me so much I actually get embarrassed by it.
Some Cool Stuff
Some of the cool things that have happened to us over the past two years:
Print
Our first feature was in the ‘Producers’ section of the November 2011 issue of Food and Home Entertaining Magazine. The article was a quarter page write-up on the business and our products. Our salted caramel sauce was used by Taste Magazine in a photo shoot; and more recently was featured in the May issue of Your Family Magazine.
Awards
Five of our products were nominated in the 'Best New Product' category for the Eat-In Produce Awards, 2012. While we didn't win the award, the nominations were one of our top achievements.
Jozi Craft Beer Fest
We've been lucky enough to have a stall at the bi-annual Jozi Craft Beer Fest - selling burgers and brownies to thousands of people. People who queue for our food. People that we love and adore for actually queueing to buy food from us.
Blogs/Online
A few blogs and online articles about The Counter and our products:
Eat In – Salted caramel sauce review
Hotel & Restaurant – Write-up on The Counter
Elephants & Easter – ‘South Africa Awesome’
Elephants & Easter – Cheeseburger Friday
Just a Girl Who Likes Words – Market on Main write-up
ExMi – Write-up on The Counter
The Oprah Magazine – The May O List
Crush Online – Article written by Meg, recipes by The Counter
It's Not Only About Raising Money
It's about raising awareness. Getting our name out there. Growing our fan base. And let me just say that our 'fans' are INCREDIBLE. You know who you are - the ones that are always there, always buying food from us, standing by our sides with unwaivering support, positive criticism and help whenever we need it. So no, it's not all about the money. It's about you guys too. We want you to be able to come and sit at The Counter all day, because that's what YOU want too. We know since you've been begging us for two years now!
And If You Can't Help Us With Cash?
Tweet for us! Post about us on Facebook! Run through the streets screaming our name! Tell your rich sugar daddy about us! Spread the word about The Counter in any way that you can. All of the links that you need are below...
THANK YOU
Wow. Thank you for getting this far and reading all of this! Thank you in advance for helping us - I will never be able to put into words how much every single contribution will help my dream come true.
Love.Eat.Live
Megs