It’s been about a year since Cabalito opened its doors in the Lower East Side. After a healthy and hearty first year, Cabalito is taking its fast casual business concept to a faster and more casual approach: a food stand in NoHo. Reminiscent of mercados, food markets found around the world, Cabalito will make its humble traditional mark in a new food collaboration project in NoHo. This project will house six up-and-coming passionate restaurateurs of different specialties. Cabalito has been selected to collaborate in this project.
In El Salvador, especially near the mercado central in San Salvador, pupusa stands can be found lining sidewalks of neighboring streets:
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(Looks just like Manhattan, no?)
Cabalito LES has been constructed to echo the fast casual vision of these pupusas vendors with a NYC twist.
What does that mean?
Provide traditional pupusa filling options, such as revueltas or loroco
Provide vegetarian options
Provide an open kitchen to witness the pupusa making process
We’re ready to take this concept to the next level with the NoHo location. The new Cabalito location will be strictly a pupuseria-- no sides, just pupusas-- and all for takeaway.With your help, we can make this happen!
What We Need & What You Get
The new location is lined up to open in two weeks. In order to hit the ground running, we’re earnestly looking at about $18,000, which includes endless haggling on Bowery for supplies/appliances leaded by our own discretion for getting the most modest solutions for opening.
$1,000 in legal fees, permits, insurance
$2,000 in packaging & food supplies
$5,000 in commercial equipment & supplies
$10,000 in locking in the location
For every donation, we’re offering the following perks in our LES location:
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$5 Shout out on Cabalito website and social media
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$20 Salud! A beer on us: Pilsener, the beer of El Salvador, gifted upon your next visit to Cabalito LES.
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$70 Date night: Reserved table at Cabalito; (4) pupusas, (1) side, (2) drinks
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$100 Personal pupusa lessons with owner Randy Rodriguez
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$150 All You Can Eat Pupusa Pass How many pupusas can you eat in one sitting? One pass per person.
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$200 Date night 2.0: Reserved table at Cabalito; (4) pupusas, (1) side, (2) drinks, (2) traditional Salvadoran desserts, (1) six pack of Pilsener, the traditional beer of El Salvador; personalized romantic playlist
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$1000 All-inclusive private party at Cabalito LES, up to 20 guests
We’re optimistic and confident, but more than anything, we are passionate about Cabalito and its mission. If the goal for the new location is not met, we’re still on board for creating an even greater experience at Cabalito LES. Some of our ideas include:
The Impact
In our short tenure we have caught the attention of various media. There's no doubt that Cabalito is onto something different:
Beyond bringing Salvadoran cuisine to the NYC culinary spotlight, we're doing this in homage to our Salvadoran culture. Far too often is El Salvador attributed to one of the bloodiest civil wars in Central America and to the alarming presence of gang violence. What warms our heart is hearing stories of love-filled pupusa experiences from Salvadoran family traditions or from customers who have traveled to El Salvador or other Salvi hubs in LA, the Bay Area, and/or DC. With Cabalito, we aim to create a portal to a prouder and more modern Salvadoran heritage.
Risks & Challenges
The restaurant industry, especially in NYC, is notorious for its high turnover rate. Without any investors or business loans, we opened our first location with personal savings in two weeks. With our mega dedicated team, we were able to H-U-S-T-L-E to open doors in time. Somehow we find ourselves in a similar situation one year later. While the thought of restaurant failures always loom in the background of our entrepreneurial spirit, we have enough ambition (ganas!) to keep on going.
Other Ways You Can Help
If you've been following us for a while, you know we're about having fun. During this campaign we will be holding two fundraising events:
- Sunday, 1/31: PUPUSA THROWDOWN
- Sunday, 2/7: CABALITO POPUP @ JIMMY 43'S
Check out our social media (@cabalitonyc) for more details! Even if you can't contribute, you're welcome to join the festivities.