The Living End Saloon Plan

The Living End Saloon (TLE) will be a fun mix of gothic, punk, and dive, with the food theme of international comfort/pub food, veganized!
Michael Farmer's concept for TLE began from his desire to minimize the suffering of animals, but as he learned more about the environmental impact of animal agriculture, and saw many of his neighbors be stricken with chronic yet preventable diseases, the mission grew to encompass environmental sustainability and the health of the community.
TLE will have a social mission with regards to animal rights, food justice, and the environment.
Aside from being vegan, TLE will incorporate other sustainable business practices, such as sourcing as much of the beer, wine, and food as locally as possible. And at least all chocolate, sugar, tea, and coffee products will be fair trade.
TLE will be an excellent place for events, meetups, and non-profit functions.
Among the plans of the business is to partner with local food assistance programs to host free PCRM Food for Life nutrition classes during the week-day when not open for regular business.

What we hope to achieve with this crowdfunding campaign:

Our overall goal is to raise $200,000 for the startup through means of personal savings and crowdsourcing.
Because it is unclear if The Living End will be taking over an existing business space that already has a kitchen, or if it'd be taking over a new space that'll require a full build-out, we're looking to raise at least $30,000 with this campaign for funding of the build-out of the dining/bar area, for which we'll need an architect, contractors, and very very many work permits.
Your contributions will be a tremendous help in making this a reality. With your help, we'll be able to start TLE sooner and on the right foot.
For more information, please visit the below site, where you can see a 14 minute video that explains the concept, why we want to do this, and why such a concept will work in Washington DC: http://www.thelivingenddc.com/about/

Risks & Challenges

The bar/restaurant business is extremely risky. We are taking every precaution to ensure this endeavor is a success, but numerous challenges await!

Businesses are generally given several months worth of free rent during build-out, and this can quickly be eaten up by delays. They may occur due to the cumbersome government certification system or contractors not completing work on time. Our way of tackling this is by navigating through the regulatory system with the help of licensing 'expeditors' who will quickly get necessary certs and licenses. We will incentivize contractors to complete their tasks on time or before, and swiftly renegotiate terms or replace them if their delays have a fiscal impact on TLE.
Contributors have this guarantee:

If TLE never signs a lease or breaks ground, all money will be refunded to contributors of this campaign.

Other Ways You Can Help

If you're unable to make a financial contribution but are still excited about making The Living End a reality, you can still have a huge impact!

Please share this link in your social media pages:
http://igg.me/at/thelivingendsaloon

Thank you very much for your support. Your contributions and interest in making The Living End a reality mean so much to us!