Ireland native and newly minted Houston restaurateur Ian Tucker has laid the groundwork for his next Bayou City concept in the form of Poitín (pronounced "putt-cheen"), a full-service restaurant and cocktail bar that's slated to become the anchor tenant at Sawyer Yards.
Tucker’s bar concepts in Ireland have been nationally recognized for boasting the best cocktail experiences in the country, and Poitín promises to deliver to Houston Tucker’s unique brand of cuisine and cocktails, all set in an inviting atmosphere.
But there's a twist to this tale: A percentage of the restaurant's funding will be raised through the crowdfunding platform NextSeed, which allows anyone to invest in small businesses. To date, 22 businesses nationwide have been successfully funded on NextSeed's Texas and national platforms.
Construction on Poitín is set to kick off next month, and the space is planned to launch in early 2018.
NextSeed provides an alternative to savings accounts and buying stocks; for the first time, opportunities exist for anyone to invest in local, growing businesses with as little as $100. Currently, Poitín is one of several live campaigns on NextSeed, which means anyone can choose to become an investor.
Popular local restaurant group Peli Peli had a resounding success on NextSeed's platform in May 2016, raising $358,000 under Texas regulations. In just 11 months, the team paid their investors back — well ahead of schedule — returning $409,513 to the members who invested.
The team now has an active expansion campaign on the platform to launch their Austin location. Peli Peli founding partners Michael Tran, Thomas Nguyen, and Paul Friedman (who is also the executive chef) first opened the Vintage Park location eight years ago, and have since expanded to several new locations with different concepts.
Being that both Tran (BS '99) and Nguyen (BA '98, JD '01) call the University of Texas at Austin their alma mater, it made sense that when it came time to expand beyond their home in Houston, they would be headed to the ATX.
Peli Peli Austin will take over a second-generation restaurant space in the 2nd Street District in Austin’s historic downtown area, with plans to open its doors in September of 2017.
Since its launch in mid-2015, NextSeed has facilitated over $4 million in investments in restaurants, bars, and various local businesses both in Texas and nationally using state and federal crowdfunding regulations. Thousands of investors wanting to catch the new wave of supporting local economic growth and development are now registered and investing on the platform.
On NextSeed, the investor can find an overview of each campaign, a detailed description of the business model and leadership team, market analysis, all of the investment details, and the opportunity to ask questions in a virtual community forum.
NextSeed was the first SEC-registered regulation crowdfunding platform in the country and is now operating from coast to coast.
For more information on active and fully funded campaigns nationwide, visit NextSeed.
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Any views expressed in this article reflect the personal views of the author only for discussion purposes and should not be viewed as investment advice or recommendation, and does not constitute any legal or tax advice with respect to any securities.
Poitín is slated to open in Sawyer Yards in 2018.
