<div><strong>Hey, we're Softies.</strong> (Yes, that's supposed to sound funny...)
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<div><strong>We started as a burger pop-up back in August 2022,</strong> trying to make familiar, fun food that felt fresh and inspired with Korean/Asian references. The whole idea was that it would be a<strong><em> fun</em></strong> (key word!!) side hustle - once a month, for friends and family, to make a few hundred bucks here and there.
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<div><em>Here's us at our first event ever in Anaheim, CA (August 2022) - Sam almost puked, and Josh shed a tear after service. Embarrassing, but kinda sweet?</em>
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</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/90144811_1747691704165043_r." width="100%" />
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<div>In the beginning, we had the specific intention of <strong>never opening a restaurant (ha!)</strong>. The commitment was too big, too scary, and too risky. Remember? We wanted to keep things <strong><em>fun. </em></strong>
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<div><strong>But our business kept growing without our intending it to.</strong> New opportunities kept coming, and luck swung in our favor more than we deserved. Our bodies/brains kept riding the momentum without understanding what that would mean for us (we've learned that sometimes, the best plan is no plan).
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<div><em>Here's our trusty team making 450 burgers at our first-ever Smorgasburg service (May 2023), being looked at by several unamused guests. </em>
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</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/90144811_1747692064209664_r." width="100%" />
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<div>As the days became weeks, and then months and years, there came a point when we realized we had to make a decision - <em>do we 1) continue lugging our two griddles around town in a borrowed pickup truck, setting up six-foot tables in back alleys and parking lots, 2) say goodbye to Softies as a whole, or 3) graduate into something bigger?</em>
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<div><strong>We are answering that question this July, by opening our first brick-and-mortar location at USC Village. </strong>
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<div>Up until now, we haven't needed or wanted much help. We've always been willing to bear the burden physically/mentally, refusing to take favors without giving back ten-fold. But every time we thought we were doing the lion's share of the work, we were reminded that <strong>Softies always has been/will be built by a village.</strong>
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<div>Restaurant openings are expensive, and we need money to make money. <strong>We've poured 99% of our pop-up savings into this opening already (close to $40k),</strong> but can use a bit of help to pay for things like:
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<li>Equipment (food processors, blenders, pots/pans, cambros, speakers, POS systems)
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<li>Furniture (chairs, light fixtures, wallpaper, diner-style booths)
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<li>Inventory (paper goods, serving trays, small wares, food for our first week of business)
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<div>We hate to ask for favors, and your support in helping us get here is already enough, but we'd be incredibly humbled if you choose to contribute to our restaurant opening. It'll propel us to continue doing what we love, and what we think we do best: serving people.
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<div><strong>As a thank you, we've partnered with PIPIP to build an exclusive merch capsule so that you get a special keepsake in return. </strong>
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<div><strong>Yes, most of your contribution will help fund the restaurant opening, but this is a small way that we can give back if you want to commemorate this moment with us (instructions on gift redemption below). We've centered this capsule around two main ideas:</strong>
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<li>"The Second Act" - this restaurant is the next chapter in this story we are writing in real time. This tagline is meant to remind us all that there is always another opportunity to rebuild/improve our lives.
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<li>"One of One" - this is restaurant one of one (for now?), and we humbly believe that Softies - despite all of our imperfections and insecurities - is uniquely one of one.
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</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/90144811_174840841539073_r.png" width="100%" />
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<div><strong>All Contributions:</strong>
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<li>Printed name on our 2025 opening menu
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<div><strong>Contributions of $50 or more: The Keepsake</strong>
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<ul>
<li><strong>"</strong>The Second Act" motel keychain
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<div><strong>Contributions of $100 or more: The Accessory Pack</strong>
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<li>"The Second Act" motel keychain
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<li>"Hang Dry For Maximum Softness" logo sock
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<li>"Softies are Stars" diner mug
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<div><strong>Contributions of $200 or more: Individual Apparel</strong>
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<li>"Softies are Stars" trucker hat <strong>OR</strong>
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<li>"The Second Act" tee
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<div><strong>Contributions of $300 or more: The Apparel Pack</strong>
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<li>"Softies are Stars" trucker hat <strong>AND</strong>
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<li>"The Second Act" tee
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<div><strong>Contributions of $450 or more: The Apparel Pack + Tote</strong>
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<li>"Softies are Stars" trucker hat <strong>AND</strong>
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<li>"The Second Act" tee <strong>AND</strong>
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<li>"One of One" tote
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<div><strong>Contributions of $500 or more: The Full Set</strong>
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<li>Everything you see above!
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</ul>
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<div><strong>All merch will be shipped in September 2025</strong> <strong>(or for pickup at the restaurant).</strong> PLEASE NOTE - we are unable to ship internationally.
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<div><strong>In order to receive your physical gift (for either shipping or pickup), please email your donation receipt, along with your requested merch pieces/sizes, to softiesburger at gmail.com (GFM redacts the email, sorry!) and we will coordinate with you in the coming weeks. </strong>Given our time constraints to produce this set and our inability to receive email info from GFM, please contact us by July 1st, 2025 to lock in your gift!
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<div>Thank you so so much for all of your support, from near and from far. This work can be lonely at times, but it's nice to know that you're coming along for the journey. It's a lot of work, but remember, we're going to keep it <strong><em>fun.</em></strong>
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<div>We are so excited to welcome you into our new home. 
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Sovandany Wang

Tina Ro

Do Kim

Dan Hwang

Michael Yi

Vanessa Zajac

Samuel Lee

Aprille Hwang

Joseph Kim

Anonymous

Sierra Jeong

Haven Kim

Rachel Lee

Catherine Kim

Justin Nguyen

Jonathan Cho

Susan Glover

Tim Yi

Rachel Byun

Mina Park

Join Us in Building Softies, the Restaurant (July 2025)

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

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NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

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US + Non-charity COs Only

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fund country is US and user language is English

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comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

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Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

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3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

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Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

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Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

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checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

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fallback mode accounts

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AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

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UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

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US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

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braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

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Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

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Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

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AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

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Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

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Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

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NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

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Android v10.6.0 and above

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Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

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Survicate

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CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Join Us in Building Softies, the Restaurant (July 2025)

Still $1,524 to go. Help us build momentum.