Kickstarter

    Help a little ol' Mom & Pop bring back an old-fashioned lunch counter!

THE SHORT AND SWEET VERSION: We want to expand our small antiques shop and Old-Fashioned Hershey's Ice Cream Parlor to bring back the beloved lunch counter that Miss Brinkley made famous.

Miss Brinkley helping one of her many customers                                 

THE LONGER, BUT VERY INTERESTING VERSION: The building that Southern Fried Studio & Shop occupies has a history that dates back almost ninety years. For most of those years, it was an old country store called "Brinkley's Market" where locals could purchase their basic groceries and gather with neighbors. And, of course, this is where Miss Brinkley made her sought-after simple, country deli sandwiches at her old-fashioned lunch counter. 

Standing room only for one of Miss Brinkley's simple country sandwiches

My husband and I had to completely renovate the ENTIRE building--it had been boarded up for more than fifteen years. 

When we needed help, everywhere we turned somebody was ready and willing to lend a hand. It really warmed our hearts to learn that so many friends and neighbors believed in us and our mission. It truly was a grass roots effort from our family, friends and neighbors. 

We had a painting party...

Here we are a little giddy from paint fumes!

I posted on my Facebook page that we needed help putting down a floor, and a friend I had not seen in 20 years volunteered three days of his time to help us finish (all for the odd combination of a case of beer & cupcakes).

Back breaking work, but so worth it!

After months of work we finally opened our small antique shop in January 2011. Along with antiques, we also carried local artists' merchandise and had "back-to-basics" classes like knitting and card making.

Finally...we were OPEN!

Since opening ten months months ago, what do you think is the most requested item from our customers? Antiques...nope. Hand-crafted jewelry...not so much. The answer, my Kickstarter friends, is FOOD!!!! Especially, Miss Brinkley's famous country ham sandwiches.

THE MEAT & POTATOES (or should I say the ham & turkey) OF OUR PROJECT: So now here we are. We want to open and operate a successful lunch counter as popular and beloved as the old Miss Brinkley's Market. We have more than our share of setbacks trying to get to this point. Between someone trying to have us shut down* and then losing our financing to buy the necessary equipment and supplies for food preparation,** we are at a critical juncture. 

Without the lunch counter, our business will not make it through the winter. Food is what our customers are asking for, and food is what will keep them coming back.

We want to bring back the glory days of this building and the iconic business in the middle of a rural neighborhood where kids still ride their bikes here for ice cream and candy. 

Neighborhood kids can ride their bikes to our shop - just like the good ol' days!

We built a hitching post just for our neighborhood equestrians where they can "park" their horses when they come in for ice cream!

If we don't continue this business and make it as successful as we know it can be, then this building will most likely be boarded back up forever.

Where would your pledge money go? From the parchment paper that we bake our cookies on (pennies per sheet) to the refrigerated deli prep table ($1000 used or $4000 new) that we need to make the sandwiches on, believe me when I say that every single dollar makes a difference!

What do you do next? It’s really simple and painless:

Just click the green “Back This Project” button on our project page. You will be asked to enter your pledge amount and select a reward. From there, you will go through the Amazon checkout process. Note that you must finish the Amazon checkout process for your pledge to be recorded. If our project is successfully funded (yeah!), your card will be charged when the project reaches its funding deadline. If our project does not reach its funding goal (boo!),your credit card is never charged. That's why they are called "pledges."

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for any amount you can pledge. This is not only our livelihood, it's our dream, so your belief in this project means a great deal to us. 

For more info and to keep informed about what's going on with Southern Fried Studio & Shop, visit our business Facebook page and our website.     

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/southernfriedinpungo              

Website: http://southernfriedinpungo.com

Other interesting tidbits:

*http://southernfriedinpungo.wordpress.com/2011/06/08/somebody-is-out-to-shut-us-down/ 

*http://www.wvec.com/home/Mom-and-pop-shop-says-it-was-targeted-by-vandals-123575829.htm

**http://southernfriedinpungo.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/we-may-be-down-but-we-are-not-out-please-read-and-pass-on-thanks-everyone/