Broken Angel vegan food cart needs trailer to grow
Donation protected
A Broken Angel vegan food cart, loved by locals and travelers alike, needs your help to build a bigger, better food trailer so that we can continue to serve our community!
<<< Psst… Friends, we hope you watch the video! And read to the end. But we know you're busy. Please notice that there are perks (thank you gifts) listed near the end. >>>
Hi! We’re Central Oregon native Barbara Troyer and Oklahoma transplant Chef Richard Hull. Over the last three years, we’ve developed quite the following at our tiny food cart tucked behind Palate a Coffee Bar in the heart of Bend, Oregon. We’ve done this by creating savory, approachable, and most of all—affordable—plant-based street food that helps people feel good about eating healthy and helps our non-human friends and the planet too.
Not only do we have tons of loyal locals, we regularly have visitors from all over the country (and world) who return again and again to eat at A Broken Angel and leave stellar reviews: there's nowhere else quite like it! Our motto is L.O.V.E.—Local, Organic, Vegan, for Everyday people and that’s the intention we set each day before service. (If you haven't seen them already, check out our local TV spot and some of those reviews.)
We're two of the hardest working people you'll ever meet and we’re very grateful for the love and enthusiasm of our customers and fans. We love our food cart. And yet… it's become more and more difficult to meet ever increasing demand out of the tiny cart due to the size of the kitchen and the cart's exposure to the elements. Read more below about some of the challenges we face with our current setup like long wait times and unexpected weather closures and why we're asking for help.
Our goal is to raise the funds to build out our new trailer within 45 days so that we can work on it during good weather! We’re excited to thank you for your support in our biggest endeavor yet.
Please contribute to our fundraiser if you can (no amount is too small) and/or share it with friends! Follow and tag us at abrokenangel.com, @abrokenangelfood , and @abrokenangelevents .
- Our story
- Why crowdfunding?
- About our little food cart
- We're a socially-minded Oregon Benefit Company
- Our customers
- A Broken Angel, the next chapter: Let’s build it!
- The numbers
- Perks
Our story in a nutshell
Chef Richard Hull started cooking with his grandfather (a master pastry chef) at the age of four and went on to become classically French trained. This is Rich’s first food cart, but he’s an industry veteran with over 25 years’ experience as a professional chef. He almost gave up cooking after the devastating loss of his popular Oklahoma restaurant, Turquoise American Bistro. After moving to Bend and changing his lifestyle he rose from the ashes, turned his magical talents onto plants—and has not looked back. One night, Barb had a dream that she would open a vegan food cart. Years later she met Rich, tasted his food, finished her master’s in Humane Education, and the next year A Broken Angel was born. (More about Barb and Rich below.)
Why is A Broken Angel turning to crowdfunding to build a new food trailer?
We're glad you asked! We’re ordinary people who started an idea from the ground up with a borrowed cart and zero outside investment. A Broken Angel has brought together a thriving community of friends and fans and although we’ve grown steadily, we’ve maxed out what we’re able to do with our tiny cart.
We put in incredibly long hours making everything from scratch daily and Chef Rich cranks out an amazing amount of food from a tiny 8' x 5' cart that fits only one person inside! In order to keep up with exponentially growing demand, we’re building a new food trailer right now—and we can’t complete it without a little help.
So many of you have come to us after eating at the food cart or attending a special dinner event and spontaneously asked how you can invest in us. This is how you can help! With GoFundMe there is no threshold to meet and we will receive all funds contributed, after credit card processing fees. We can even accept offline (cash) donations and input them to count toward our total goal. And we are offering a few fun perks for your donations to our project (see below).
About our little food cart
We’ve done wonders with our current food cart (isn't it cute?!), which was originally created to be a summertime event cart. March of 2019 marked three years in which we’ve frozen in low temps, dug out from record snowfalls, lost umbrellas to crazy wind gusts, experienced rain driven horizontally into the cart, and broiled in 100-degree heatwaves. Our precious food cart is so small that only Chef Richard can fit in it, forcing anyone taking orders to brave the elements.
Last year we experienced significant improvements in ambiance and seating by moving into the back patio of Palate a Coffee bar. It’s such a peaceful oasis for connections with friends and hanging out with kiddos and dogs. Even so, we still have little protection from the weather and the harsh conditions and constraints are taking a toll on the tiny cart (and us)! And yet, we happily come back day after day, because we love feeding people delicious and healthy food, and if we’re open, you come in droves. It’s clear we’ve outgrown our tiny cart, and a bigger food trailer will enable us to do so much more. Don't worry, we plan to stay at our current location with the new food trailer—with the same food, vibe, and friendly faces you love.
As a socially-minded Oregon Benefit Company, we have implemented sustainability measures well beyond most food trucks and many restaurants: We prioritize organic and local, limit food waste, compost or give away leftovers, encourage customers to dine in with reclaimed cutlery and plates, and give a discount for those bringing their own containers. Additionally, we fundraise for nonprofits like Harmony Farm Sanctuary and donate to or cater for nonprofit events as often as we can.
Our customers: At least once a week a customer finds us and tells us excitedly that they've been vegan or eating a whole-foods plant-based diet for a week, a month, a year… often, their doctor told them to come or they came to it on their own, and they've seen health benefits and are feeling great. We feed people like Mike, who’s had multiple heart attacks at a young age and needed to make a change. We meet people like Janet, who’s reversed chronic illness with diet. We chat with people like Corey, who’s realized the connections between animal agriculture, inhumane treatment of animals, and environmental degradation and is looking to opt out. We feed people like Jamie, who’s on a student’s budget and orders biscuits and gravy with extra greens, every time. We feed people like Ashley, who’s traveled the world but had her best meal with us. We feed people like Jim, who wouldn’t dream of calling himself a vegan but would eat here every day. The number of people choosing vegan options is growing rapidly. We’d like to continue to be a resource for those looking to change their diet and lifestyle and to learn new cooking skills.
A Broken Angel, the next chapter: Let’s build it!
Between savings and cash donations from our fundraiser party last year (thank you!), we were able to purchase a used utility trailer. It’s a blank slate and we plan to turn it into our new food trailer. However, we need a little push to get the project started.
A larger food trailer would allow us:
· More grill space to cook, reducing wait times and giving us an opportunity to expand our menu.
· A climate-controlled kitchen, allowing us to be open consistent days and hours (we close quite a few days each year due to the weather).
· Room for two to three people, allowing us to train staff, and for staff to assist in prep, cooking, presentation, and taking orders. (This will ultimately allow us to be open longer hours and potentially extra days, as staff gains experience to run the trailer.)
· Space for storing more food and the ability to prep food as needed during the workday. This will help us with efficiency and keep us from selling out as often.
· To make our famous biscuits (and gravy) and other baked goods in the cart as needed.
· Room to hold food for pickup orders, grab and go items, and/or meal service orders.
· Space for the register and related items, protected from the elements.
· To wash and prep onsite, reducing hours spent at our commissary kitchen.
· To accept and host more catering events, as we are able to train staff.
· The opportunity to give small cooking classes during off hours. (Part of our bigger vision is to open a plant-based teaching kitchen in Bend, and this would help us get started).
· To sponsor internships/externships and field trips for culinary students interested in plant-based cooking. We already have a good relationship with the local culinary school, and we’d love to take it further.
The Numbers
We’ve priced out what it would take to build a food trailer to code in Deschutes County and we’re estimating that starting with the already purchased used utility trailer, we can complete it (or get close) for $14,500. The money will be used for:
· New and/or reclaimed equipment (flat-top, burner, oven, refrigeration, and so on).
· Labor and materials for plumbing, electrical, flooring, etc.
· Signage / graphics wrap.
· Health department permitting and fees for new trailer inspection and classification.
· Increased insurance costs for food trailer (vs. food cart).
· Shipping and fulfillment costs for rewards.
· GoFundMe credit card processing costs (about 5% of earnings).
· Repairs fund.
We’ve already raised some of the funds, but we need your help to make this a success. If we can go well past our funding goal, we'll be able to bring you the new food trailer and all that comes with it much faster, plus have a buffer for unexpected expenses and repairs.
Perks!
Note: Although we offer some fun perks, we hope you will value the result of our hard work and community building as a reward for your generous contribution. We anticipate filling perks in October 2019 and after. Thank you!
$5 – Our eternal gratitude and social media shout-out.
$35 – Limited edition ABA hat + social media shout-out. U.S. shipping included or pick up at the food trailer. 50 available.
$50 – Limited edition T-shirt + social media shout-out. U.S. shipping included or pick up at the food trailer. 50 available.
$150 – Two tickets to pre-opening VIP launch party and tour + 2 limited edition hats OR T-shirts (local pickup) + social media shout-out.
$500 – Ten-entrée punch card + 2 tickets to pre-opening VIP launch party and tour + 2 limited edition hats OR T-shirts (local pickup) + social media shout-out.
More About Chef Richard Hull
Chef Richard Hull started cooking with his grandfather (a master pastry chef) at the age of four and is classically French trained. After opening and running 12 restaurants in Oklahoma, two of those his own, he is now focusing on teaching compassionate and sustainable living skills and preparing delicious and healthy food through A Broken Angel. Fun facts: When not cooking and catering, Rich loves to write and play music, which he’s been doing since the age of 13. He also spent his teen years skateboarding on the amateur circuit.
More About Barbara Troyer
Barb is a Central Oregon native who uses her M.A. in Humane Education as a facilitator for changemakers and organizations doing good in the world. She created A Broken Angel with Rich and is behind the house-made sauerkraut, biscuits, and many of the desserts for special events plus the website and social media. She also works with nonprofit clients, including a farmed animal sanctuary and a local nonprofit which teaches nonviolent communication skills. Barb dreams of opening a vegan teaching kitchen in Bend, Oregon accessible to individuals of all income levels, and where the next generation of plant-based chefs can come for immersive training. Fun facts: Barb spent most of a year in her twenties as an au pair (nanny) in Madrid, Spain—but please don’t test her on her Spanish. She’s also sometimes “recognized” from a small part in a 20-year-old forensic science murder mystery documentary.
<<< Psst… Friends, we hope you watch the video! And read to the end. But we know you're busy. Please notice that there are perks (thank you gifts) listed near the end. >>>
Hi! We’re Central Oregon native Barbara Troyer and Oklahoma transplant Chef Richard Hull. Over the last three years, we’ve developed quite the following at our tiny food cart tucked behind Palate a Coffee Bar in the heart of Bend, Oregon. We’ve done this by creating savory, approachable, and most of all—affordable—plant-based street food that helps people feel good about eating healthy and helps our non-human friends and the planet too.
Not only do we have tons of loyal locals, we regularly have visitors from all over the country (and world) who return again and again to eat at A Broken Angel and leave stellar reviews: there's nowhere else quite like it! Our motto is L.O.V.E.—Local, Organic, Vegan, for Everyday people and that’s the intention we set each day before service. (If you haven't seen them already, check out our local TV spot and some of those reviews.)
We're two of the hardest working people you'll ever meet and we’re very grateful for the love and enthusiasm of our customers and fans. We love our food cart. And yet… it's become more and more difficult to meet ever increasing demand out of the tiny cart due to the size of the kitchen and the cart's exposure to the elements. Read more below about some of the challenges we face with our current setup like long wait times and unexpected weather closures and why we're asking for help.
Our goal is to raise the funds to build out our new trailer within 45 days so that we can work on it during good weather! We’re excited to thank you for your support in our biggest endeavor yet.
Please contribute to our fundraiser if you can (no amount is too small) and/or share it with friends! Follow and tag us at abrokenangel.com, @abrokenangelfood , and @abrokenangelevents .
- Our story
- Why crowdfunding?
- About our little food cart
- We're a socially-minded Oregon Benefit Company
- Our customers
- A Broken Angel, the next chapter: Let’s build it!
- The numbers
- Perks
Our story in a nutshell
Chef Richard Hull started cooking with his grandfather (a master pastry chef) at the age of four and went on to become classically French trained. This is Rich’s first food cart, but he’s an industry veteran with over 25 years’ experience as a professional chef. He almost gave up cooking after the devastating loss of his popular Oklahoma restaurant, Turquoise American Bistro. After moving to Bend and changing his lifestyle he rose from the ashes, turned his magical talents onto plants—and has not looked back. One night, Barb had a dream that she would open a vegan food cart. Years later she met Rich, tasted his food, finished her master’s in Humane Education, and the next year A Broken Angel was born. (More about Barb and Rich below.)
Why is A Broken Angel turning to crowdfunding to build a new food trailer?
We're glad you asked! We’re ordinary people who started an idea from the ground up with a borrowed cart and zero outside investment. A Broken Angel has brought together a thriving community of friends and fans and although we’ve grown steadily, we’ve maxed out what we’re able to do with our tiny cart.
We put in incredibly long hours making everything from scratch daily and Chef Rich cranks out an amazing amount of food from a tiny 8' x 5' cart that fits only one person inside! In order to keep up with exponentially growing demand, we’re building a new food trailer right now—and we can’t complete it without a little help.
So many of you have come to us after eating at the food cart or attending a special dinner event and spontaneously asked how you can invest in us. This is how you can help! With GoFundMe there is no threshold to meet and we will receive all funds contributed, after credit card processing fees. We can even accept offline (cash) donations and input them to count toward our total goal. And we are offering a few fun perks for your donations to our project (see below).
About our little food cart
We’ve done wonders with our current food cart (isn't it cute?!), which was originally created to be a summertime event cart. March of 2019 marked three years in which we’ve frozen in low temps, dug out from record snowfalls, lost umbrellas to crazy wind gusts, experienced rain driven horizontally into the cart, and broiled in 100-degree heatwaves. Our precious food cart is so small that only Chef Richard can fit in it, forcing anyone taking orders to brave the elements.
Last year we experienced significant improvements in ambiance and seating by moving into the back patio of Palate a Coffee bar. It’s such a peaceful oasis for connections with friends and hanging out with kiddos and dogs. Even so, we still have little protection from the weather and the harsh conditions and constraints are taking a toll on the tiny cart (and us)! And yet, we happily come back day after day, because we love feeding people delicious and healthy food, and if we’re open, you come in droves. It’s clear we’ve outgrown our tiny cart, and a bigger food trailer will enable us to do so much more. Don't worry, we plan to stay at our current location with the new food trailer—with the same food, vibe, and friendly faces you love.
As a socially-minded Oregon Benefit Company, we have implemented sustainability measures well beyond most food trucks and many restaurants: We prioritize organic and local, limit food waste, compost or give away leftovers, encourage customers to dine in with reclaimed cutlery and plates, and give a discount for those bringing their own containers. Additionally, we fundraise for nonprofits like Harmony Farm Sanctuary and donate to or cater for nonprofit events as often as we can.
Our customers: At least once a week a customer finds us and tells us excitedly that they've been vegan or eating a whole-foods plant-based diet for a week, a month, a year… often, their doctor told them to come or they came to it on their own, and they've seen health benefits and are feeling great. We feed people like Mike, who’s had multiple heart attacks at a young age and needed to make a change. We meet people like Janet, who’s reversed chronic illness with diet. We chat with people like Corey, who’s realized the connections between animal agriculture, inhumane treatment of animals, and environmental degradation and is looking to opt out. We feed people like Jamie, who’s on a student’s budget and orders biscuits and gravy with extra greens, every time. We feed people like Ashley, who’s traveled the world but had her best meal with us. We feed people like Jim, who wouldn’t dream of calling himself a vegan but would eat here every day. The number of people choosing vegan options is growing rapidly. We’d like to continue to be a resource for those looking to change their diet and lifestyle and to learn new cooking skills.
A Broken Angel, the next chapter: Let’s build it!
Between savings and cash donations from our fundraiser party last year (thank you!), we were able to purchase a used utility trailer. It’s a blank slate and we plan to turn it into our new food trailer. However, we need a little push to get the project started.
A larger food trailer would allow us:
· More grill space to cook, reducing wait times and giving us an opportunity to expand our menu.
· A climate-controlled kitchen, allowing us to be open consistent days and hours (we close quite a few days each year due to the weather).
· Room for two to three people, allowing us to train staff, and for staff to assist in prep, cooking, presentation, and taking orders. (This will ultimately allow us to be open longer hours and potentially extra days, as staff gains experience to run the trailer.)
· Space for storing more food and the ability to prep food as needed during the workday. This will help us with efficiency and keep us from selling out as often.
· To make our famous biscuits (and gravy) and other baked goods in the cart as needed.
· Room to hold food for pickup orders, grab and go items, and/or meal service orders.
· Space for the register and related items, protected from the elements.
· To wash and prep onsite, reducing hours spent at our commissary kitchen.
· To accept and host more catering events, as we are able to train staff.
· The opportunity to give small cooking classes during off hours. (Part of our bigger vision is to open a plant-based teaching kitchen in Bend, and this would help us get started).
· To sponsor internships/externships and field trips for culinary students interested in plant-based cooking. We already have a good relationship with the local culinary school, and we’d love to take it further.
The Numbers
We’ve priced out what it would take to build a food trailer to code in Deschutes County and we’re estimating that starting with the already purchased used utility trailer, we can complete it (or get close) for $14,500. The money will be used for:
· New and/or reclaimed equipment (flat-top, burner, oven, refrigeration, and so on).
· Labor and materials for plumbing, electrical, flooring, etc.
· Signage / graphics wrap.
· Health department permitting and fees for new trailer inspection and classification.
· Increased insurance costs for food trailer (vs. food cart).
· Shipping and fulfillment costs for rewards.
· GoFundMe credit card processing costs (about 5% of earnings).
· Repairs fund.
We’ve already raised some of the funds, but we need your help to make this a success. If we can go well past our funding goal, we'll be able to bring you the new food trailer and all that comes with it much faster, plus have a buffer for unexpected expenses and repairs.
Perks!
Note: Although we offer some fun perks, we hope you will value the result of our hard work and community building as a reward for your generous contribution. We anticipate filling perks in October 2019 and after. Thank you!
$5 – Our eternal gratitude and social media shout-out.
$35 – Limited edition ABA hat + social media shout-out. U.S. shipping included or pick up at the food trailer. 50 available.
$50 – Limited edition T-shirt + social media shout-out. U.S. shipping included or pick up at the food trailer. 50 available.
$150 – Two tickets to pre-opening VIP launch party and tour + 2 limited edition hats OR T-shirts (local pickup) + social media shout-out.
$500 – Ten-entrée punch card + 2 tickets to pre-opening VIP launch party and tour + 2 limited edition hats OR T-shirts (local pickup) + social media shout-out.
More About Chef Richard Hull
Chef Richard Hull started cooking with his grandfather (a master pastry chef) at the age of four and is classically French trained. After opening and running 12 restaurants in Oklahoma, two of those his own, he is now focusing on teaching compassionate and sustainable living skills and preparing delicious and healthy food through A Broken Angel. Fun facts: When not cooking and catering, Rich loves to write and play music, which he’s been doing since the age of 13. He also spent his teen years skateboarding on the amateur circuit.
More About Barbara Troyer
Barb is a Central Oregon native who uses her M.A. in Humane Education as a facilitator for changemakers and organizations doing good in the world. She created A Broken Angel with Rich and is behind the house-made sauerkraut, biscuits, and many of the desserts for special events plus the website and social media. She also works with nonprofit clients, including a farmed animal sanctuary and a local nonprofit which teaches nonviolent communication skills. Barb dreams of opening a vegan teaching kitchen in Bend, Oregon accessible to individuals of all income levels, and where the next generation of plant-based chefs can come for immersive training. Fun facts: Barb spent most of a year in her twenties as an au pair (nanny) in Madrid, Spain—but please don’t test her on her Spanish. She’s also sometimes “recognized” from a small part in a 20-year-old forensic science murder mystery documentary.
Organizer
Barb Troyer
Organizer
Bend, OR
