Vegan restaurant looks to crowdfunding to make up for lack of customers

A vegan fast-food restaurant on the Gold Coast has turned to crowd funding to pay its back rent and bills.

Despite closing its doors in May, Feed the Earthlings’ owner Teaki Page has launched a crowd-funding campaign for $5000 to help cover the costs of bills and back rent, which she blames on poor trade due to the Commonwealth Games.

“With the exception of about 6 months, it has been a financial struggle since the day we started,” she wrote on her the gofundme listing, which is titled 'Keep vegan Feed the Earthlings'.

“We now owe back rent, suppliers and even staff wages. We have only come this far because we kept putting things off that had to be paid because we truly believed we were on such an upward trend that we would be able to pay everything down the track. This was wrong and now too many people are having to pay for our mistakes and we need help.”

Speaking to the Gold Coast Bulletin, she says it was a hard decision to make and “the only way I have been able to live with it is because we are a social enterprise. We are an integral part of that and we are really making a difference.”

Apparently other people agree, with the campaign having already raised $4120.

Sheridan Randall - 4/9/18