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Help "Pizza is Lovely" open full-time!

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Welcome to our Fundraiser for Pizza is Lovely - Vegetarian and Vegan Detroit Style Pizzas (and more)!


The short version:

What started out as a lockdown pop-up has proven to be a hugely popular part of Bristol’s indie food scene and the time has come for us to try and climb up to the next rung on the ladder and be open full time. We have the vision, the skill and a solid plan but lack the funding to make the dream come true.


We have taken on a second space to use as a prep kitchen which will allow us to expand our team, our menu and our hours but are in desperate need of some start-up cash to help buy essential equipment to get up and running. If you feel you can spare some money to help us out then we would be very grateful.


The full story

Hi - I'm Julian and i've been running my pizza-based instagram account “Pizza is Lovely ” since 2018. I’m passionate about making many styles of pizza and love vegetarian and vegan food. My Instagram account proved very popular and it's been a pleasure meeting and chatting to so many people all over the world about making pizza without meat.


When the pandemic hit in early 2020 I was one of the 3 million people that were completely excluded from any financial support from the government. Our household income almost completely vanished and we had to act fast to try and keep our heads above water. I'd long dreamt of taking my pizza making hobby and turning it into a business and with a large Instagram following it seemed like a good option.


With almost no pizzerias in the UK doing Detroit Style Pizza (DSP) I felt this style would be a wonderful thing to sell as it's delicious and unique. We took out the largest loan we could get and invested in as many DSP pans as we could afford, a large dough mixer and some pizzas ovens. Despite our best efforts to get up and running it took many months and eventually our local MP’s involvement to get the BBLS paid and by the time the kit had arrived and we’d secured a location we’d been running on fumes for over 6 months.


We did our first service in February 2021 and it completely sold out. Since then we’ve been open almost every 2 weeks and have repeatedly sold every single pizza we can possibly make. I’ve sunk almost every penny of profit back into the business to buy more equipment and increase our capacity but it’s been very slow going and i've been unable to match increasing demand.


We work from a small kitchen and with such limited space it’s not possible for many tasks to be done simultaneously. For instance we make our own vegan cheese fresh every week but it’s a lengthy and time consuming process that requires a huge amount of workspace and while we’re doing that its not possible for any other kitchen tasks to be going on. This means that we’ve not been able to simply add more staff and get through the work faster and therefore have been unable to open every week. We’ve secured a second kitchen space in the same premises and are poised to take this project to the next level up. To do this we need a cash injection to help fit out the new space with essential equipment.


Your Donations will allow us to:


  • Be open every week - With more staff and the space to work on concurrent prep tasks we’ll be able to be open every week rather than fortnightly
  • Offer on-the-day ordering - Customers will be able to order food on the day rather than needing to pre-order many days in advance
  • Expand opening times - More space for staff to work will allow us to open for more hours per day
  • Increase capacity - This equipment will enable us to increase the number of pizzas we can make each day by at least 40%
  • Increase the rate we can make pizza - More oven space will mean we can make more pizzas during peak hours when demand is highest
  • Expand the menu - More cold storage, more prep space and more staff means we’ll be able to offer a larger fixed menu so customers will have more choice.
  • Reduce single use plastic - We currently use bagged ice to ensure our homemade cheeses are cooled quickly and complies with HACCP standards. This unfortunately generates plastic waste. The blast chiller will remove our dependance on this method.
  • Offer gluten-free options - With increased working space and more chefs we will be able to offer gluten-free bases.
  • Offer New York style pizzas - We can't wait to offer HUGE (18”) New york style pizzas. We need a second fridge, G/N dough trays and pizza screens to make this happen
  • Create jobs - Being open full time will create employment for around 6 people
  • Offer delivery - Our extra prep space will allow us to offer a delivery service within a 3 mile radius of our base



The list

Here’s a list of what we need to buy. Many of the items on the list have multiple uses for the business but i’ve grouped them closely into some categories so it’s easier to understand why we need them.


Refrigeration:

- Large storage fridge £911.99

- Toppings fridge £707.98


Cooking:

- Deck Oven £1968

- Combi Oven £3078.00

- Blast Chiller £2612.40


Pizza Making Equipment:

- DSP Pans £1161

- DSP Tools £102

- Pizza Screens £130.46

- Pizza Screen rack £37.53

- Dough trays + lids £834.90


Delivery equipment:

- Delivery Bags £672

- Hot hold £3179.98


Total £15396.24

+ platform fee (2.9%) £446.49


Final target including the platform fee: £16000


As you can see - it all adds up! We’ve already applied and been rejected for all available grants we can find so if you like our food and what we have planned for the future then please consider giving us a hand up to the next level. I truly believe our business could be a wonderful addition to Bristol’s amazing foodie scene - we just need a bit of help to get there.


Thanks in advance for any and all donations, it really means the world to us. Even if we don’t hit our target the donations will help us get a step closer to our goal.


Julian & the Pizza is Lovely team

Organizer

Julian Guy
Organizer
England

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