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20th Century Café Seeks Some Last-Minute Startup Funds

Polzine
Polzine Photo: Elisa Cicinelli/Kitchen Paparazzi

As generally happens, the process of opening a new small restaurant in San Francisco is rife with pitfalls, bureaucratic delays, building code confusion, surprise repairs, etc., and pastry chef Michelle Polzine says she just didn’t expect to go as over-budget as they’ve gone with her 20th Century Cafe (188 Gough). Now she’s going the crowd-sourcing route, via Kickstarter, asking friends and fans to help make up the difference so that they can “close up the walls and start cooking.”

She describes the project as “a café and time machine poised to immerse you in the experience of Old World cafe society.” And as you can see from the short film she and her team made below, she’s a fan of old-timey aesthetics, as well as old-fashioned strudels, knishes, and bagels.

20th Century Cafe should be open by early June at this point, but if you’d like to donate, please do so here. If you give $75 or more, you’ll get your name engraved on a brass plaque affixed to the hood in the open kitchen, and if you donate $150 or more, you can attend a tart-making class, or “Michelle will call you on the phone and sing an early 20th Century ditty to express her thanks.” Also, there will be free toffee.


Earlier: An Update on Michelle Polzine’s 20th Century Café, Due Later This Spring
20th Century Café, from Range Pastry Chef Michelle Polzine, Coming to Hayes Valley

20th Century Café Seeks Some Last-Minute Startup Funds