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Creativa's Restaurant is closing — not because of lack of passion or guests, but because the building is collapsing.
We built this magical place with our own hands, and now we are left with a huge debt.
We’re asking for your help — not to save Creativa, but to close this chapter with love, and plant the seeds of what may come next.
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This is our Story
Hi, I’m Carmen, a 34 year Mexican woman, the creator of Lola Canela and the founder of Creativa, a plant-based restaurant in Ingolstadt — built entirely by hand, with love, dedication, and above all, with the deep desire to bring something different, honest, and international to this city.
From the very beginning, the idea was clear: To create a space that felt like being in a big city — a fresh, modern, tasty and healthy culinary offering. A warm and vibrant atmosphere that broke away from the traditional, bringing more color to Ingolstadt.
Bute first, there were cakes: Lola Canela was born in 2021 — a little cake brand with the message:
“Do you believe in the power of nature?”
The response was overwhelming.
In no time, the cakes touched something in people.
That small spark — nourished by intuition, community, and the desire to offer something magical — kept growing…
and that’s how the idea for Creativa was born.
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Why We’re Closing
It’s not due to a lack of guests.
Not a lack of passion.
Not a lack of ideas.
We’re closing because the building is falling apart.
Literally.
From the beginning, we knew the space was old — but it was also unique: nestled in the park, full of character, with potential to become something unforgettable and it has been a restaurant for almost 30 years and what should go wrong, it’s a bunker, right?
We saw the potential and invested everything with the hope of staying 10, maybe 15 years. Believing in our skill, knowing we will make it.
We never imagined that after just three, we would be forced to close that early, due to reasons that are completely out of our influence.
In our first year, much of our time went into repairing damage, fixing structural mistakes, and patching what had never been properly addressed — especially in the winter, when humidity, cold, and hidden flaws revealed themselves.
2023 - After the jungle ion the roof was cut back – the water came in. We’ve reported leaks, mold, cracks, and structural problems.
In December 2024, we started noticing suspicious water spots on the ceiling - and even afer consulting with professionals and offering affordable, sustainable solutions, we were dismissed.
Now, the situation is no longer safe:
• The ceiling is crumbling.
• Leaks have reached critical areas.
• Some rooms are so damp, they’re no longer usable.
• And yet, we payed the full rent till we escalated the topic this spring
We simply can’t run a restaurant like this. Not safely, not respectfully.
And the most painful part:
This isn’t our failure – we can do nothing to change the situation.
It’s the result of a chain of neglect and mismanagement by those who were supposed to care for the building.
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Now What?
After three years of tireless work, giving our best - we’ve created something we never imagined:
A real, living community — one that goes far beyond Ingolstadt.
We knew this project would be hard to build… and it was. But what started slowly soon became a magnet for food lovers — both vegan and non-vegan. The response was beautiful: 80% of our guests don’t follow a vegan diet, but they found in Creativa something different, honest, natural — full of flavor, life, and creativity.
Without big advertising campaigns, word spread. Every weekend, guests traveled from Munich, Regensburg, Nürnberg, and dozens of surrounding towns. People across Bavaria came to know Creativa — not just for the food, but for the energy that lives here: the flavors, the design, the warmth, the passion.
And now, everyone asks:
“What will you do next?”
“Will you move?”
“Will you open somewhere else?”
The truth is:
we can’t.
Every bit of time, money, energy — every piece of us — was poured into the project of Creativa.
And now, due to this forced closure, we’re left with a huge debt.
There is no Plan B.
No savings.
No new space.
We gave it our all.
And we would do it again.
But right now, we simply have no way to start over.
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Why This Campaign?
This isn’t a campaign to “save” Creativa.
We know the closure is real.
But we’re launching this because we don’t want to disappear in silence.
Because everything we created — with so little and so much love — deserves to end with dignity.
We’re asking for support to:
• Cover part of the debt left behind by this forced closure.
• Pay for legal support to defend our case against the city to get back the overpayed rent
• And when the time is right, begin to imagine a future again, without carrying this mountain alone.
There are no products offered in exchange.
This is not a transaction.
It’s not a business strategy.
This is a gesture of faith.
A way to say: If Creativa ever touched your heart, you can help us close this story in the same spirit it was created.
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What Comes Next?
Right now, we don’t have big plans.
Everything we were lived inside Creativa.
And now, the only step is to breathe, and close this chapter.
What we do know is that we want to leave behind a memory a legacy.
That’s why our next step, slowly and with care, is to work on The Book of Creativa:
A collection of recipes, stories, photos, and reflections that will preserve everything this place meant.
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This Campaign Is Also Yours
If you ever laughed at Creativa,
if you were one of those people who first hesitated because it was “vegan,”
but then walked in and said,
“Wow — this food is delicious, different, and nothing like what I imagined vegan food would be,”
if you were ever moved by the colors, smells, and flavors of our dishes,
if you were left speechless in front of our Lola Canela cake display,
if you raised a glass at one of our concerts,
joined one of our magical workshops,
and if your heart cracked just a little when you heard Creativa was closing…
Then this campaign is also yours.
Since announcing our closure,
dozens and dozens of people have reached out —
encouraging us to launch a crowd fund campaign, and to make it public, to not let this go quietly.
That’s why we’re doing this.
Because the love and support we’ve felt since the beginning —
and especially in these past few months —
has shown us that we created something deeply meaningful in a very short time.
And we are grateful.
Grateful to have done it.
Grateful to all who crossed paths with us.
If one day we’re able to rebuild something from this experience,
it will be thanks to those who believed that a story this magical and this flavorful didn’t deserve to end due to crumbling walls —
but could continue, in another form, in another place.
Thank you for every visit.
For every word.
For every quiet hug.
For every “thank you” left at the bar.
For every smile when you tasted something new.
And most of all,
thank you for helping us carry this dream,
even if only for a little while.
And especially, in this last stretch of the road.
With all our heart,
Carmen & Creativa's Team
This is what we've done so far:
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