bring fet fisk restaurant and bar to life

dearest friends,

we are more than pleased to announce that a permanent home for fet fisk is close on the horizon for 2023. we have just signed a lease for an iconic building in the east end. you may already be familiar with lombardozzi’s restaurant in bloomfield. now we come to you to get us across the finish line. donate now to help us summon your new favorite pittsburgh dining spot from the depths of the ocean!

good restaurants are inherently creative places that foster a sense of community. however, the point of entry for an aspiring independent restaurateur is prohibitive financially. when the essential purchase of a liquor license costs $90k +, the remaining project costs and financial planning required can easily overwhelm small fries like us. oftentimes ambitious chefs such as myself will relinquish creative autonomy or control of their concept to investors when the economic landscape presents a lack of viable options.

that’s where you come in. to manifest this restaurant into existence, we are pursuing a traditional lending option to maintain all the qualities that make fet-fisk what it is, rather than be beholden to investors.

I’m proud to have modeled the business to spend our cash flow responsibly by serving delicious food with sustainable, traceable ingredients and paying our staff equitably. fet-fisk has grown slowly and surely over four years, and throughout the pandemic. reinvesting in our farm, personnel, and brand instead of an inflated ownership salary. from the jump, our directive was always to emulate a restaurant experience: hone the brand, write menus, train staff, and attract clientele to facilitate the transition to a brick and mortar. the goal was not to run a lucrative cash cow, and so here we are.

since january 2019 fet-fisk has:

served 4531 guests

prepared 1095 pickup orders

written 53 menus

inhabited 14 venues

served 283 unique dishes (at least)

pickled over 500 gallons of vegetables

in january of 2022 I partnered with kate romane (black radish kitchen) and greg austin (412 food rescue) who have since provided the extra hands and expertise necessary to bring my restaurant dreams to life. together we have spent the last year pursuing spaces and planning the concept's next move. we’ve now entered this decisive moment.

the lombardozzi's building is a perfect fit for us aesthetically, conceptually, and geographically. the restaurant and bar alone seat ~70 guests, and multiple breakaway banquet rooms give us ample room to grow into our events program with which to boost our revenue and keep our staff well paid. we have decided to keep a large part of the existing aesthetic intact but for instance, the carpeted floors in the dining room simply have to go.

here's what our funding structure looks like:

owner’s capital +40k

*crowdfunding (that’s you) +40k

small business loan +350k

= 430k total project cost

to get this cruiseliner back in ship shape and running smoothly + securely, we are asking you to give a few hard-earned doubloons and match our input. your donations will cover the 10% down payment on our loan as well as the additional legal expenses incurred during this phase of the process.

this opportunity is exceedingly more promising than any other that my team and I have pursued thus far. we kindly ask that you please donate today to set this project on the road to fruition.

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video production by shani banerjee