San Fran’s Millennium Restaurant More Than Doubles Kickstarter Goal; New Location May Open in June
For more than two decades, San Francisco’s famed Millennium Restaurant has been a pioneer on the vegan scene, introducing countless diners to the delicious, diverse world of vegetable-based cuisine.
And while the current location is shutting its doors May 1, founding chef/co-owner Eric Tucker and general manager Alison Bagby decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign to fund the restaurant’s move to a new location.
Comments from backers via Kickstarter
The campaign ended today, and the team more than doubled their fundraising goal. Shooting for $50,000, they earned a staggering $119,003 from 654 backers.
“We knew we had a lot of support from the community but did not know the Kickstarter would do as well as it did! We are so grateful,” Bagby told Latest Vegan News.
So why does she think the campaign was such a hit?
“The campaign was successful because Eric has created a devoted following over two decades in San Francisco and people want him to continue cooking in the Bay Area,” Bagby explains. “He makes the best plant based cuisine around and a lot of people—omnivores and vegans who want excellent food—appreciate it. Also, our new location is fantastic!”
Clearly, Eric Tucker loves what he does.
“I’ve been doing this for a really long time and I still adore doing this,” he said in the Kickstarter video.
“I get to work with the best product available, I get to work with really stellar people that run these fantastic small farms, I get to work with some really superb folks that run our back of the house and front of the house, and I get to cook food for some guests that are really appreciative and really like what we’re doing. We want to continue that.”
Via Millennium’s Kickstarter campaign
Millennium’s closure was announced earlier this year. The lease was up on the current Geary St. location, and the principal owners chose to retire. So, Tucker and Bagby decided to pick up the slack and move the operation to a new spot in the East Bay (Rockridge).
They’re already getting settled into the new location, and the crew has big plans for the re-opening. They’re hoping to greet diners starting in June, Bagby says.
According to the Kickstarter page, they’ll be holding winemaker dinners, hands on cooking classes, specialty dinners (foraged mushrooms anyone?), plus lots of new events tailored to the new digs.
The new spot also has a sprawling back patio, and it’s close to the freeway and San Francisco’s area public transportation (BART)—so there are no excuses for locals not to stop in for a visit. Keep an eye on updates via Millennium’s Facebook page.
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