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Zeke's Coffee Pittsburgh

Holy Crap! You folks are amazing! Stretch Goal #2 - Boot The Boot!

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Zeke's Coffee Pittsburgh

Zeke's Coffee Pittsburgh

Zeke's Coffee Pittsburgh

Zeke's Coffee Pittsburgh

Zeke's Coffee Pittsburgh

Holy Crap! You folks are amazing! Stretch Goal #2 - Boot The Boot!

Holy Crap! You folks are amazing! Stretch Goal #2 - Boot The Boot!

Holy Crap! You folks are amazing! Stretch Goal #2 - Boot The Boot!

Holy Crap! You folks are amazing! Stretch Goal #2 - Boot The Boot!

Matthew DeSantis
Matthew DeSantis
Matthew DeSantis
Matthew DeSantis
1 Campaign |
Pittsburgh, United States
$21,335 USD 289 backers
142% of $15,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! - We are here to stay!

 Because of YOU we are able to remain in the community and provide even better coffee and baked goods! We really can't thank you enough!  

So Now What? 

We're not done! We have 1 week left in the campaign and 2 stretch goals left! Please share the campaign and don't forget to pass the word along in the really real world. We're all about the interwebs but know that not everyone has used Indiegogo.



Stretch goal #2 OPERATION: BOOT THE BOOT! 

Speaking of that pesky parking problem...anyone who lives and works in East Liberty knows how hard it is to find all-day parking. We'd also like to utilize the 20 parking spaces at our roastery for public leasing. We've earned ourselves a fair share of parking tickets over the years, and if you work in East Lib, you know what we're talking about. We'd like to supply the public with a safe place to leave their ride in the morning and a free cup a day for any lease holder. All we need to do is a bit of clean up, install some safety lighting, and hire a line painter. If we reach $25,000 we'll be able to build you a parking lot! 

Anyone who has donated to the campaign gets first priority for the spaces and will receive a 20% discount on their lease! 

What happens if we reach $30,000?

Stretch goal #3 OPERATION: GREEN SPACE

We've been dreaming of adding some green space for picnicking or spring/summer get-togethers. How about a park grill for summer cookouts in the city!? Pour a few back and watch as we transform the outskirts of our property into a sweet spot to have a cup of coffee (or a beer), cook some ribs (or veggies!) and hang out with your coworkers or family. If we hit $30,000 we'll landscape the wild growth around our roastery that currently collects plastic bags and discarded trash and refuse from the city into a beautiful green space to chill and reflect. Tire Swing for the kids? Horse Shoe Pit? Picnic tables? Flower beds? New Trees? Yup. 

Pittsburgh! You've already given a lot, but we know these projects are within reach and would be a true benefit to our city. Please consider sharing or showing your support in whatever way you can.

Again, Thank You! Thank You! THANK YOU! 

-Zeke's Coffee PGH family. Chris, Brye, Alex, Savannah, Tyler, Chad, Danielle and Wes

Over the weekend we (with some friendly help) moved (almost) everything out of 6012 Penn, (a truly surreal experience as it's been our home for nearly 4 years!) and are hard at work on the new space.

At the New Zeke's Coffee Pittsburgh we will be able to have more seats and treats with better wifi and our signature fresh roasted coffee! Same Awesome Staff! More Drinks! Public Bathrooms! Oh My!

We're planning a soft opening in the coming month and hope you'll join us. We'll be sure to let everyone know once the date is nailed down. 


________________________________________________________________________

What’s a Zeke’s Coffee?

We are a small local business that refuses to quit! We are a family-owned small batch roastery, café and bakery located in the heart of the up-and-coming East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh.  We’re in our fourth year here and we’re still pushing forward, fueling this community with our fresh-roasted coffee and baked goods made from local organic ingredients.  We offer over 30 varieties of highest quality Arabica coffee, many of which are Natural Fair Trade, roasted in small batches through the “fluid bed” method, which ensures a very high level of consistency.

We’ve grown quite a bit since our humble beginnings in 2011, when you could find owner/master roaster Chris Rhodes roasting a single pound at a time, riding around town and pouring hot cups for construction workers from his ‘coffee bike’, and bringing “pounds to the people” at local farmer’s markets. With the addition of Chris’ wife Brye’s homemade baked goods, as well as a kick-ass espresso machine, business has been growing steadily. Our customers have become like family – regulars who live/work in East Liberty and local businesses (cafés, bars, offices, etc) that buy our pounds – and they’ve helped to make us strong and push us to work harder every day to extend our reach throughout Pittsburgh.

Despite the odds (Pittsburgh has some pretty intense coffee competition), we’ve worked our asses off to establish ourselves here in this changing community, but we now face some pretty big challenges and need your help! We’re working non-stop to meet growing demand, and at the same time, we are faced with having to completely uproot our café/bakery and move to a new location by January, as developers get ready to demo the block for new projects.

That’s put us in a tight spot! We are lucky to have secured TWO new locations in our rapidly growing neighborhood:

A new café/bakery (6015 Penn Ave), just across the street from where we are now! We’ve completed the demolition and are steadily renovating the space. It will offer much more production space for baking and plenty of indoor/outdoor seating in a cozy environment for our growing East Lib family of customers. With this, we will be able to step up our coffee game, at the same time, highlighting local businesses with the addition of light breakfast and lunch.

A new roastery/packaging facility and drive thru (6314 Broad St). We’re stoked about this! Our new roaster there is helping to increase our production by 70%. Plus, we are turning the location’s huge parking lot into a much-needed (so we’ve been told) coffee DRIVE-THRU! We’re building this out in the next few weeks. Now if we only had heat, proper electric and maybe some hot water!

The stage is set, the work is in progress. Here’s where you come in...

We’re So Close!

With so much to do, we are running thin and need your help. So we’re launching this campaign for our Café/Bakery and want to offer you some great things for the holiday season, some cool perks and a chance to join our family here in East Liberty.

With everything happening all at once it's increasingly difficult to determine dollar for dollar where the money goes, but we can tell you what we need and our prospected expense to complete these projects, as well as what you'll get for your gracious support. 

1) Renovations: We need to finish renovations, i.e. paint, floors, doors, working surfaces, tables and chairs, plumbing and electric. We've got a kitty set aside for some of this work, but all in all estimated cost is another $30,000. 

2) Espresso Machine and Equipment: We need a new espresso machine as the one we currently use will move to the drive-thru. We also need to purchase other equipment for the new cafe to make us more efficient in serving you. Estimated cost $10,000 - $15,000.

Why then are we only asking for $15,000? Because we think it's insane to ask for more. We're working hard every day to find avenues to finance and get this work done as cheaply and efficiently as possible. We've created stretch goals with this campaign because well... every bit helps. 

What You Get

Just imagine, these could be yours! Here are some highlights of things we are giving away.

Pounds, pounds, pounds! If you haven’t had our coffee, we will hook you up with our little bags of fresh-roasted joy and make you a believer.



Sweet Treats - Brye and the Zeke’s bakery – she makes a mean chocolate-peanut butter cookie and her pecan bars taste like they fell from heaven.

Zeke’s T’s - Because we want you to look good. To be designed by Pittsburgh artist Chris Smith. (photo to come!)


Suspended Coffees! Because sometimes someone somewhere is in desperate need of a hug. Give them a hug in a mug. 

Why Bother?

Our community of East Liberty is changing – crime is down, foot traffic is up, and people are coming here for the first time since the 80’s. We’ve been here since the very beginning of this revival, and we want to remain part of the fabric and have a say! Your donation to our cause will help to maintain an independent, small local business in the midst of an increasingly corporate landscape. It will support  the mom’n pop, do-it-yourself culture that keeps our cities from being a big pile of lame!

We’ve got to be able to compete. So since we have to relocate, we are taking the opportunity to upgrade our operation so that we can. We want to offer more to our community without sacrificing what we believe in – more fresh-roasted coffee and homemade baked goods, more seating and accommodations at our café, and more support of other local business, whether that’s through wholesale, at farmers markets, or selling other locally-made goods at our shop.

Risks & Challenges

The deadline for our move is January 10th. It is likely that we will be unable to complete the new cafe to its full glory by that time (but we're trying!). We are hoping to simply remain operational and have the core work completed in time for the move. Some working capital will certainly help in this venture.

Like any business, we've had our share of obstacles before, and through hard work and sweat, we've overcome them one at a time. Your donation will allow you to be a literal part of the brick and mortar as you watch us grow and change. 

Other Ways You Can Help! 

We understand that this is the holiday season. Money is tight and sometimes you're just not in a position to be able to help some strange coffee sling'n peeps. If you're into what we do.... tell people! Help us promote this in any way you can. Indiegogo has some great sharing tools to make it easy for ya. Just a few clicks and you've done us a huge service!

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Choose your Perk

Show Some Love!

$5 USD
It’s cold out there! Warm someone’s day with a “Suspended Coffee” for a customer in need. +A swanky “Fueled By Zeke’s” bumper sticker to outfit your ride +A big suspended hug from our grateful staff
5 claimed

Coffee Makes Happy!

$10 USD
Cup on us! 1 small coffee drink of your choosing (Pittsburgh Magazine calls it the best cup’a joe in the city!) +A swanky “Fueled By Zeke’s” bumper sticker +High fives and fist bumps from our staff!
Estimated Shipping
February 2015
26 claimed

Mug Love!

$25 USD
Bling! A snazzy silver Zeke’s logo “to-go” mug (free first-time fill-up) + A swanky “Fueled By Zeke’s” bumper sticker +An invite to our grand opening +A hand-drawn heart-shaped or smiley-face thank you card, with coffee stain
Estimated Shipping
February 2015
98 claimed

Deluxe Cool-Kids Package

$50 USD
A bad-ass, limited edition Zeke’s T-shirt designed by a local Pittsburgh artist Chris Smith! +Week ‘o Coffee! One coffee drink of your choosing every day for one week, Mon-Fri +Sweet Treat! One of Zeke’s homemade baked goods (at Café/Bakery) + Zeke’s “to go” mug (free first-time fill-up) + A swanky “Fueled By Zeke’s” bumper sticker PLUS… +The envy of all your peers
Estimated Shipping
February 2015
41 claimed

Pounds, Sweets 'n more Treats!

$100 USD
One 16oz bag of our signature fresh-roasted coffee. You choose! +A dozen delicious Zeke’s cookies – you choose!: chocolate chip, peanut butter chocolate chip, chocolate cherry, oatmeal raisin +A bad-ass, limited edition Zeke’s T-shirt designed by local Pittsburgh artist Chris Smith +An invite to our grand opening + A swanky “Fueled By Zeke’s” bumper sticker +A whole lotta love!
Estimated Shipping
February 2015
30 out of 100 of claimed

V.I.P. Pound of the Month Club

$250 USD
That’s right. One freshly-roasted pound of your favorite Zeke’s roast every month for 6 months, and a small coffee drink on the house when you stop by to pick it up! +Sweet Treats! A DOZEN of our popular bars: pecan, lemon, raspberry + Zeke’s “to go” mug (free first-time fill-up) +An invite to our grand opening + A swanky “Fueled By Zeke’s” bumper sticker +Paparazzi
Estimated Shipping
February 2015
9 claimed

Caffeine Crusader!

$500 USD
You gotta stay caffeinated to fight crime! 2 pounds of your favorite roasts each month for six months! +A half pound of our gourmet dark chocolate-covered espresso beans +Sweet Treats! TWO dozen Zeke’s baked goods of your choosing + Zeke’s “to go” mug (free first-time fill-up) +An invite to our grand opening + A swanky “Fueled By Zeke’s” bumper sticker +We believe in you!
Estimated Shipping
January 2015
1 claimed

Can we have your autograph?

$1,000 USD
Imagine your name, your band’s name, your business’ name, your mom’s name on a Zeke’s pound…forever! Schedule to visit us, we’ll walk you through the process of selecting/blending your green beans and teach you about the roasting process as we roast your signature blend. And if it’s a good one, we’ll put the roast logo on the side of our Drive-Thru! +Free gig catering! We’ll cater an event for you with hot brewed coffee and fresh-made baked goods for up to 30 people. 50 mile radius.
Estimated Shipping
February 2015
4 out of 10 of claimed

B.A.D.A.S.S.

$5,000 USD
FREE COFFEE FOR LIFE! * Yes, LIFE! + Free gig catering! We’ll cater an event for you with hot brewed coffee and fresh-made baked goods for up to 50 people. 50 mile radius. + A custom portrait drawn by our very own employee Savannah Graham **, to remind yourself every day how truly bad ass you are! + An invite to our grand opening + A swanky “Fueled By Zeke’s” bumper sticker *1 coffee drink per day M-F **http://www.savannahgraham.com/**
Estimated Shipping
February 2015
0 out of 10 of claimed

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