It's pumpkin pie season! My daughter Alice is a huge fan of pumpkin pie. She had the first 3 slices of a pie we made last weekend. My nephew Earl, another dedicated fan of pumpkin pie, is getting married this month. Earl, I hope the tradition of Celebration Through Pie continues in your new household, and: Congratulations!

Tomorrow, this kickstarter campaign will be over. Even though we will most likely NOT meet our funding goal, I've learned a lot during this campaign, and I came up with some great ideas for Cafe Giraffe. Some new parts of the opening plan are the following:

• 1) Open a smaller cafe than originally envisioned. We will have limited seating space (seating for 10-20 people) and a lot of opportunities for delivery or takeout.
• 2) Our kitchen will be the main event. The kitchen will still make everything fresh and allergen-free!
• 3) Open sooner. A smaller cafe with a smaller seating area means that renovating our space won't take as long.
• 4) Emphasize allergen-free, delicious sauces and toppings.

At the conclusion of this campaign, I will be getting in touch with lenders who are interested in seeing the Cafe reach our financing goals to open next spring.

I strongly believe in the goal of providing delicious, ready to eat, nutritious food to gluten-free and allergy-free customers. Not just necessary for survival, food is a way to celebrate a great existence. With the goal of feeding people great food that they love and know they can safely eat, Cafe Giraffe will open regardless of whether this campaign succeeds this Friday night.

To everyone who pledged as a backer: Thank you for your support. When the time comes, I will try to find a way to say thank you.

I wish you all a great Veteran's Day and a very happy Thanksgiving!!

Sincerely,

Amy Kohtz

Hello Backers!

On Wednesday, I talked to a producer for The Bobby Flay Project, a new tv show that will be filming this winter and spring. If Cafe Giraffe opens by June, we may get featured in an episode! Getting featured would be a boon for spreading the word. The producer likes the Cafe Giraffe story, so cross your fingers!

Also this week, the Cafe Giraffe kickstarter campaign was featured in Gluten Free Fun, a blog by the leader of the country's biggest celiac meetup group, meetup.com/celiac . The blog post is here: http://glutenfreefun.blogspot.com/.

Thanks again for backing the Cafe Giraffe. Stay tuned!

Hello backers!

Thanks to everyone for your great support. We had a fun meetup last Saturday. 10 Gluten-free people got to try our modernist gluten-free burger buns and the cocoa-nut Meetup Group birthday cake. Lots of fun! I always learn something new, interesting, and life-changing at these meetup events.

 Here's a photo of my double-cheese burger on a gluten-free bun. Our motto for the week: "Happiness is a warm bun." Thanks again for your support, and have a great day!

This Saturday, October 22, 2011, NYC Celiac Disease Meetup Group turns 8 years old. We're celebrating with cake and gluten-free modernist-burger buns at Shake Shack! The event will be happening at Shake Shack in Battery Park at 1:30 p.m.

I have been active in the NYC Celiac Disease Meetup Community as a member, a co-organizer, and as founder and organizer of the group Celiacs About Town. I'm excited to bring some great gluten-free food to the gluten-free meetup community.

Backers at all levels are welcome to attend, cheer on the Cafe Giraffe effort, and enjoy a gluten-free Shake Shack burger on a GF bun. I'll also be bringing along my daughter Alice's favorite cake invention, "cocoa-nut cake" made with coconut flour, Valrhona chocolate, and toasted hazelnut.

Hello backers!

We had an exciting week in NYC. I attended Comic Con and met a product designer who would like to design containers and interior design accents for Cafe Giraffe. He will also design a mail-able "Food Cube" that recipients can fold into a cube that displays their food allergies in a disposable, 3-dimensional format.

I'm looking forward to the chance to package delicious, unique products in interesting, unique, and earth-friendly packaging.

As always, thanks for your support!