Help Steph+Paolo open their Denver restaurant!

The Backstory

We're a husband and wife entrepreneurial team, catering company and producers of the Steph+Paolo cooking web series on Facebook.  Our passion is to share the love of cooking with others.  In the spring of 2019, we decided to take a leap forward with our business and purchase a local pizzeria.  With all our debt paid off and cash in the bank, we closed our eyes, held our breath and jumped.  Paul put in his 2 weeks notice at his current job, we drafted a business plan and made a tentative offer. Then life threw us a heartbreaking curveball.  On June 12, 2019, the sudden and unexpected loss of Paul's beloved father, Michele, put our plans into a tailspin.  The aftermath of this family emergency drained our start up fund.  We were forced to walk away from the restaurant we were ready to purchase, the $150,000 price tag was no longer within our grasp.  As we reconsidered our options, a new business listing caught our eye; a small, up and coming pizzeria with great reviews and even more potential.  The owner was only asking $100,000, with just $25,000 up front and an offer to carry the rest. 

We offered $75,000 and the owner accepted!      



The Costs

Pooling our remaining resources we made a $5,000 down payment and we are officially under contract!  As we made call after call and filled out form after form we realized that even with very little debt, good credit scores and collateral, securing even a small loan with two teacher's salaries is extremely difficult. We've had so many people reach out and ask how they can support us in this venture.  So...we are asking our community of family, friends, and followers to help us bridge our financial gap in any way possible.  

These are our major financial hurdles: 

The remainder of the down payment, closing costs, first and last month's rent, buying out the current inventory, a soft remodel of the restaurant front end and equipment and health inspections. 

Our target is $35,000. 



How You Can Help

Asking for help is hard.  Really hard.  But, we need our team in our corner to get this thing off the ground.  Here is what we have to offer in return for your kindness and generosity.    

$5-$50: For anyone donating at this level, we will send you a custom vinyl sticker that will make you the envy of all your friends. At least until you share our link, and they find out that a small donation can get them one too.

$50-$100: You will receive a custom vinyl sticker, a personal shout out  on our Facebook page and website.

$100-$250: You will receive a sticker, a shoutout, and a personalized video thank you card (which may or may not include a song performed by Paul).

$250-$500: You will receive a sticker, a shoutout, a personalized video thank you card, and a dozen of Steph's Famous Chocolate Cherry Biscotti.

$500-$1000: You will receive a sticker, a shoutout, a personalized video thank you card, a dozen of Steph's Famous Chocolate Cherry Biscotti, and a custom, hand painted, Steph+Paolo canvas tote.

$1000+: You will receive a sticker, a shoutout, a personalized video thank you card, a dozen of Steph's Famous Chocolate Cherry Biscotti, a custom, hand painted, Steph+Paolo canvas tote, a pizza named after you, and Paul will mow your lawn. No, really...he will.