Hi All -

You may have heard by now about Niles Pie Company's Kickstarter campaign. Niles Pie is growing, and building out a kitchen just up the road a piece from LEAF! We should be up and running in January 2013. Very exciting stuff! Part of my vision for the kitchen is to have a place for classes and events, and I hope to be able to do more with LEAF as I get settled in.  I have visions of canning and jam-making workshops, space to do workshops, and even small dinner events.I'm really looking forward to have space to stretch out, and be a hub for all things culinary in our part of the East Bay.

We need to raise $25,000 by November 16 in order for this to work. Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing crowd-funding platform, so if we don't make our goal, we don't get anything. So far, just over a week into the campaign, we've raised just under $14K, about 54% of the goal. So, please share the news of the campaign, and the link (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nilespieco/niles-pie-company) so we can take this next giant step in our pie-evolution! 

Here's a little more about the company, and what we do: 

Fremont, CA – After two years working out of rented commercial kitchens, a small, Fremont-based pie company is launching a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for a place of its own. Niles Pie Company aims to raise $25,000 to open a new pie shop and bakery with a fully equipped commercial kitchen and room for classes and events – another step in the spread of the local food movement southward along the East Bay. It’s up against a tight deadline: the all-or-nothing campaign launched October 12 and ends Friday, Nov. 16. If it falls short of raising $25,000 in online donations, the campaign will have failed and the money will be returned to investors. But it looks like, with the help of the community, it may be a rousing success. Already, just over a week after launch, the project has raised over $13,000, 54 percent of its goal. Visit http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nilespieco/niles-pie-company to see the Kickstarter campaign.

 Founded by chef and baker Carolyn Berke, Niles Pie makes sweet and savory pies and pastries from ingredients purchased, whenever possible, from local organic farms and producers. Its menu changes with the season from local sweet berry tarts in the Spring to pumpkin pies made with Fremont’s Perry Farms organic pumpkins in the Fall. Customers place their orders online for pickup twice a week at locations around Fremont. The company also provides pie and pastry for local restaurants and eateries, and offers special orders and pastry catering for events. The business has steadily grown to the point that an investment in a permanent kitchen is the next logical step.

With the move into permanent kitchen space, the company will expand in both capacity and reach by adding retail customers, more wholesale customers, more sales booths at specialty and farmers’ markets and a comfortable, inviting and flexible space for private events and cooking classes. It will also expand the menu with a line of frozen pot pies and dinner pies. See Niles Pie’s website at www.nilespie.com.

About Carolyn Berke:

Carolyn started baking for a living back in her college days in the late '80s, at a little campus cafe. They put her to "picking chickens" -- cleaning the skin and bones off cooked birds for the chicken salad. The first time the baker didn't make it to work, she jumped at the chance to learn the muffin recipes and how to make their amazing sourdough baguettes. She used to go to her 8 a.m. American Lit class with dough under her nails and smelling like the soup of the day.

After college she just kept baking. She worked her way around New England, baking at conference centers, upscale and downscale restaurants, catering companies, a culinary school, even an opera camp in Maine. Her favorite was the summer she was head cook at a 4-H camp. Eventually she started her own bakery.

Life is funny and threw some curves. Carolyn found herself in California and settled in Niles, a quaint and lovely Fremont neighborhood known for its antique shops, biker bars and pioneering role in the silent film industry. She worked for over a decade in corporate real estate and software – not bad work, but the lure of the rolling pin called. Finally she answered it and launched the Niles Pie Company in October 2010.

About Kickstarter (from kickstarter.com):

Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects -- everything from films, games, and music to art, design and technology. Kickstarter is full of ambitious, innovative and imaginative projects that are brought to life through the direct support of others. Since its launch on April 28, 2009, over $350 million has been pledged by more than 2.5 million people, funding more than 30,000 creative projects. 

To learn more about Niles Pie and its Kickstarter campaign contact

Carolyn Berke, owner

carolyn@nilespie.com

510-789-0393

Cell: 510-304-3936