Keep Izakaya Mita Open in Bucktown!
Donation protected
Izakaya Mita just celebrated its 2 and a half year anniversary on June 12th, 2017 in Bucktown at the corner of Damen and Armitage. We have to say that it has been some of the most amazing years of our lives. When Mother and I decided to build this unique restaurant in honor of my father, we could not imagine the outpouring of support from our amazing, caring neighbors, many of whom have become friends of the family.
In our works with the community, we are humbled to contribute to a vibrant growing area in the Bucktown neighborhood. Personally, I have enjoyed working with the Bucktown Community Organization and the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce SSA 33 to help identify Bucktown as it’s own vibrant neighborhood in the milieu of Chicago's great neighborhoods, and have always been happy to contribute to our neighborhood schools, and community organizations.
In our greater work with the greater Japanese saké community, it has been both been my passion and honor to democratize what saké can be, and dispel any preconceptions our customers may have through friendly service and education. Balancing that mission and also delivering delicious bites of Japanese comfort food has always been the intention at Izakaya Mita.
In order to finance this mission/growth, we’ve taken on various stages of debt, and realized that we needed to restructure some of our internal operations to make ends meet. In February, we laid off our head chef and Mom and I took on those responsibilities, hoping that our lower labor costs could offset the slower summer patio/festival season. We've added weekend day shifts hoping that the extra business could help. We are continually tweaking the menu to fit our creative take on Japanese small plates.
As we head into our slow season, even with our labor restructuring, some of these debts have been catching up to us. While our business has been decent, it seems it's just under what we need to break even during the slow months. It does take a significant amount of cashflow to repay some of these debts, often at the expense of our other liabilities.
It pains me to imagine a life without walking to work into the heart of Bucktown, and that our tiny little corner spot would go empty. I’ve always liked describing us as the best little sake bar in the city.
My mother had a dream to honor my late father, and that was to popularize his favorite style of Japanese cuisine, izakayas. I've been amazed that she has gotten this far in her post retirement. There is an emotional toll that has been weighing down on her, and these debts have been a large cause of that. Any help to alleviate that would be earn my eternal gratitude.
We need to start injecting cash into the business immediately in order for us to stay open through the end of the month and through next. Of course, any business is more welcome as we get to see our guests and give them our classic Mita hospitality. This $50k would help us get through this slower time, and help us pay off some debts so that my father's dream could survive. We would love your help and any generosity on your part would be met wholeheartedly by me, my mother, and the entire Izakaya Mita family.
Love, Brian and Helen Mita, and the rest of the Izakaya Mita family.
In our works with the community, we are humbled to contribute to a vibrant growing area in the Bucktown neighborhood. Personally, I have enjoyed working with the Bucktown Community Organization and the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce SSA 33 to help identify Bucktown as it’s own vibrant neighborhood in the milieu of Chicago's great neighborhoods, and have always been happy to contribute to our neighborhood schools, and community organizations.
In our greater work with the greater Japanese saké community, it has been both been my passion and honor to democratize what saké can be, and dispel any preconceptions our customers may have through friendly service and education. Balancing that mission and also delivering delicious bites of Japanese comfort food has always been the intention at Izakaya Mita.
In order to finance this mission/growth, we’ve taken on various stages of debt, and realized that we needed to restructure some of our internal operations to make ends meet. In February, we laid off our head chef and Mom and I took on those responsibilities, hoping that our lower labor costs could offset the slower summer patio/festival season. We've added weekend day shifts hoping that the extra business could help. We are continually tweaking the menu to fit our creative take on Japanese small plates.
As we head into our slow season, even with our labor restructuring, some of these debts have been catching up to us. While our business has been decent, it seems it's just under what we need to break even during the slow months. It does take a significant amount of cashflow to repay some of these debts, often at the expense of our other liabilities.
It pains me to imagine a life without walking to work into the heart of Bucktown, and that our tiny little corner spot would go empty. I’ve always liked describing us as the best little sake bar in the city.
My mother had a dream to honor my late father, and that was to popularize his favorite style of Japanese cuisine, izakayas. I've been amazed that she has gotten this far in her post retirement. There is an emotional toll that has been weighing down on her, and these debts have been a large cause of that. Any help to alleviate that would be earn my eternal gratitude.
We need to start injecting cash into the business immediately in order for us to stay open through the end of the month and through next. Of course, any business is more welcome as we get to see our guests and give them our classic Mita hospitality. This $50k would help us get through this slower time, and help us pay off some debts so that my father's dream could survive. We would love your help and any generosity on your part would be met wholeheartedly by me, my mother, and the entire Izakaya Mita family.
Love, Brian and Helen Mita, and the rest of the Izakaya Mita family.
Organizer and beneficiary
Brian Mita
Organizer
Chicago, IL
Yick Yee Helen Mita
Beneficiary
