Food Dream in Old North St. Louis

Hey everyone!

I'm Chef Chris.  I am a Chicago native who is now a transplant to the St. Louis area.  In 2014, I moved my wife and kids to this town with a mission to grow our company and become better entrepreneurs!

In February of this year, we learned about a fantastic opportunity to join a competition that would give entrepreneurs like us the chance to own a restaurant by providing two years of free rent in a 4,400 sq. foot fully-outfitted restaurant (pictured below), mentorship and marketing assistance worth more than $200,000. We applied along with more than 200 applicants across St. Louis.  After three rounds of challenges that tested both business acumen and culinary skill, we are happy to announce that we are one of FOUR FINALISTS set to compete for the grand prize!


We've been working hard on growing our business and raising our family since our very first catering event in February 2010.  Funding a dream takes hard work - and we are no strangers to it!  Last year, while in the process of opening a small restaurant in partnership with a local business, we faced the triple-whammy of losing a loved one and both of our jobs. We eventually made the choice to close the restaurant we'd opened just eight months prior to focus on providing for our family while continuing to offer catering services.  


Advancing in this competition has been a dream come true!  Winning would provide an incredible opportunity to re-open our restaurant in a growing market and continue offering the delicious menu and catering options that we've become known for over the last seven years. 


We are now required to show we have our portion of the startup costs and we are asking for your help.  This is the biggest venture we have done to date and the only way we can continue on is with solid financial support from people like you.

It will take a total of $125,000 for our opening costs and expenses. We are seeking loans as well as investors to help us attain the remaining balance.   All funds raised will go toward the opening of the new Rhythm & Thyme Restaurant and Catering.  If crowned winners, we will have a time frame of four months to do all of the build-out work before our lease goes into effect in January 2018. Our proposed opening day is scheduled for the middle of December 2017. 

Please consider making a donation, no matter how small.  We appreciate your willingness to support us in making this dream a reality.  To learn more our business, visit us on social media at Rhythm & Thyme Restaurant and Catering.

You can read more about the competition here: Fantasy Food Fare Competition.