With Less Than 24 Hours Left, Brunch Spot Beeswing Lost Half Its Kickstarter Money

Cully brunch mainstay Beeswing has hit a massive snag in its fundraising efforts to stay open. According to the restaurant’s co-owner, Kickstarter decided to purge half of the pledges with around 24 hours remaining — after the campaign was fully funded.

Two weeks ago, Beeswing started a crowd-funding campaign to buy out the primary investor, who is looking to sell the restaurant. By July 28, the restaurant had exceeded the $70,000 goal, mostly doing so with dollar-for-dollar rewards to the restaurant. By Tuesday, half the pledges were cancelled, and most of the perks were removed from the site. According to co-owner Marissa Lorette, the word “voucher” — used in some of the perk descriptions — is apparently a no-go with the fundraising website, although that word is not mentioned on the site’s prohibited list. Kickstarter informed Lorette that it was too similar to a coupon; coupons are not allowed as Kickstarter perks. The purge left Beeswing with less than $50k and less than 24 hours to make up the remainder.

The Beeswing crew added a number of the perks back with some rephrasing to accommodate Kickstarter’s guidelines. Already the fundraiser is climbing back up to its goal, though it has very little time left. Kickstarter has yet to respond to a request for comment.

• Beeswing [Official]
• Beeswing (forever?) [Kickstarter]
• A Lauded Brunch Spot is Turning to Kickstarter to Keeps its Doors Open [EPDX]
• All Previous Beeswing Coverage [EPDX]