HELP Our Wellness Bakery FIND A NEW HOME!

INTRO:

We are a Wellness Bakery from Brooklyn that has broken the mold on making cravings better for you!!!

A 100% dedicated gluten-free bake shop, allergen-friendly and all-inclusive eatery, WE CAN FEED ANYONE! Regardless of your sensitivities to ingredients, we have something for everyone!! We are setting the standard of satisfying cravings, healthfully and mindfully.

The best part is these are some of the best pastries and breads in the country. And you can't tell it's Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free!!

We have re-created the muffin category to be healthy, wayyyyy better than bad-cake-like sugar bombs with zero nutritional value…. Our MuFins are built with gut-friendly, high-protein alternative-grain packed flavor bombs that give back! Made with whole grains (no wheat), coconut yogurt (no butter/ no white sugar ever!) and as many nutrients as we can pack in them.

I promise you they are better than any muffin you have had! Why do we spell it MuFin? Because F-Crappy cake for breakfast that only provides a sugar crash, empty calories, and a stomach ache. F-that!

As for our other sweets; How about a Sour Cherry or Fig Danish made with our focaccia dough (so fluffy) and the world's best Cashew Cream Cheese (Monty’s!)? We just add a little lemon zest and fresh vanilla bean with jam to create an addictive treat.

Dairy-free and grain-focused Cookies, whole grain breads from silky focaccia and multigrain loaves to partnering with companies like YOLELÉ to add one of the most powerful grains- FONIO to enrich our buttery (no butter tho) Corn-Fonio loaves while helping to invest in revitalizing West Africa by using their indigenous crop.

THE BIG QUESTION IS WHY DO WE NEED YOUR HELP?!?!

Here’s how it all started:

At the start of the Pandemic, we saw a great opportunity to invest our 45 years of combined experience into health and wellness through foods that we crave; make them way better for you, and build a community of trust. We got a temporary deal on decent rent we thought we could work with. So we signed a lease and tried to raise funds for a micro-manufactory to get these products across the city (NYC Boroughs).

Unfortunately, people weren't investing as we learned during the pandemic and took on too many high-interest loans just to get open with minimal equipment. We had to open early with a business we didn't want as our primary source of income- a retail/cafe vs guaranteed wholesale revenue and the cafe as the gravy on top.

We wanted to build a wholesale juggernaut like no other - A no-waste frozen wholesale gluten-free/dairy-free/ allergen-friendly bake good provider and also start shipping across the country and building a following to eventually open small shops in our most popular areas (CA/AZ/FL/CO).

Because of the unpredictability of a retail cafe, we just kept accruing debt because almost 50% of sales were going towards paying back these ridiculous loans, draining our cash flow.

NOW:

Hey folks

I write to you with a bit of a heavy heart and a bit of hope.

After months of trying to figure out how to get on the same page with the new owners of our building, our negotiations have come to an end.

Our last days are numbered, and fittingly enough it looks like when its the season to say “Thanks”, we’ll also be saying goodbye

88 Roebling will no longer house our 7 Grain Army Wellness Bakery after November. .. .

The bittersweet is that I am looking to rebirth as soon as possible A smarter version like I always planned; A micro-manufactory of Good For You eats that satisfy cravings with wellness…

THIS CAMPAIGN IS NOW ABOUT A NEW FUTURE

Now, it’s time to find real partners that want to see this product reach the people that need it most.

Our corner store, off the beaten path in Williamsburg did pretty well as an interim space that acted more like a cafe rather than a space to build a successful prototype for helping people eat safely across the landscape of café’s and restaurants in NYC..

It gave us the ability to learn about our best products and gain an incredible following and proof that we can produce some of the best of the best baked goods in NYC no matter if they have gluten or not! (Previous business- SCRATCHbread).

Bottom line is everything seems to ‘work’ here at our location, but it’s not enough to invest into a future.

It didn’t take 4 years to realize our product and potential need a new home, but it’s obvious now after our new landlords refused to even communicate with us.

Are we being kicked out?

Not exactly, we just couldn’t reach our landlords for 2+ months after many requests once they bought the building and then they just started threatening to evict us.

So why are you leaving?

Because this space doesn’t allow for us to grow, and our landlord just wants money, not a happy tenant long-term.

We need our wholesale and Mail-order business just as much (if not more) than our cafe business (which btw has no seating inside for winter), so this space has too many limitations.

But we were willing to stay and negotiate , but their lawyer specifically told me our first convo the new owners only care about money.

So, whats the plan?

Its time for a reset:

Lots of great people that want to help have reached out, I want to talk to them about how to build this thing properly- not a patch up job to keep this location barely working.

I want to build a team of good resourceful people that know how to take my ideas and support them into something great, not survival.

Let’s rally a business that should be here.

Somehow, someway, let’s collectively push this business forward.

I got no resources left except my ability to create food that gives back in the most incredible ways…

Our new goal reflects our ability to go out without pissing too many people off and also supporting our efforts to keep surviving and pushing towards a quick rebuild.

The more you can help, the easier it should be to bring this back asap.

Let’s celebrate and stay positive.

Look, there are 6 more weeks. Every dollar gets an equal gift card so come spend some money and eat some of the best baked goods in all of NYC (gluten free or not!)

Take a look at our amazing reviews and LUV all our customers new and old have to say.

The business works, just not like this.

We are smarter than this business model we have had to adapt too.

We see our future and need your help getting us there.

Thank you so much for all of our loyal customers and family.

Thank you to everyone asking to help.

I fought as hard as I could.

The GF community is incredible and I hope I can continue to support and fight for the right to not feel excluded for trying to just eat.

Matthew

3 Months Ago:

A new landlord bought our building and we have no idea who they are, except they want us out. We want to renegotiate our lease to fit our business at this location. They are not just ignoring us, they are trying to evict us..

THE PLAN:

We need to clean up debt, to get us outta this current mess.

Next is to refinance and extend our debt, saving us about $4000 a week in payments and half that with better terms.

Invest into our infrastructure- 2 more ovens (15k). We need to fix our current ovens and the shop functioning and ready for some growth.

Get wholesale clients and build a base of 10-15 clients yielding $1k-2k each week (with 1-2 days max delivery; everything is sold frozen).

Get Direct to Consumer (DTC) accounts across the country and make money while sleeping.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?:

We have about 40% of our business to offer in partnership/shares- whatever you wanna call it. We need CAPITAL, STRATEGIC PARTNERS, AND WANT HELP.

Be a part of the future in eating- clean, people-focused, chef-driven all-inclusive places that give back.

Partner with 45 years and previous business ownership knowledge along with 4 years of a proof of concept that bootstrapped a growing million+ dollar business.

Potential future CPG product line for stores, build the first worldwide brand focused on future eating trends, not flash-in-the-pan trends. This is long-term.

IF YOU CAN HELP:

We’ll provide a gift card for every dollar you can help with.

If you want shares to invest and/or have skills and resources to help us refinance our debt, let's talk about value.

If you know hotels or health clubs or big wholesale accounts we can fit with, please reach out or connect us.

If you just wanna help- bless you and thank you.

Thanks for reading. We love you. Thanks for getting us here so far.

Let's see what happens when we ask the community we are trying so hard to help, rallies around our future. And if not, we thank you for all the LUV and support.

Matthew & Jeffrey

7 Grain Army