Grunig makes another sale (Image: CHS)

Every Saturday for the past nine months you could find Josh Grunig selling a changing array of treats. He sets up shop from 10 AM to 1 PM in Magpie on E Union and 20th in the Central District and uses this very direct interaction with customers to hone his menu and get it “to a truly exemplary place.”

These Saturday morning “pop-ups” have been an opportunity for Grunig not only to expand his menu while helping raise his newborn daughter but also to create relationships with the businesses and residents of the Central District. He wants to give back to the “extremely supportive” neighborhood by providing a delicious food made from sustainably-grown, nutritional, local ingredients.

But frequent customers want access to his vegan sourdough, croissant-donuts, pistachio shortbread and cinnamon rolls for more than three hours a week, so Grunig has started a fundraiser to put his bakery in a brick-and-mortar home in the Central District.

CHS talked with Grunig last fall as he started his pop-up service. At the time, he was hoping to find a location within a few blocks of Magpie — possibly in new construction coming to the area. “There’s a huge amount of opportunity around Union,” Grunig said. “It’s really an opportunity for me to be in a real neighborhood.”

There appears to be plenty of support for the campaign based on the Community Sourced Capital system of crowdfunding in which investors can provide a no-interest loan to small business owners and organizations $50 at a time. The Pocket fundraiser launched on May 15th, and has already raised more than $8,000 of its $10,000 minimum goal.

The ultimate goal, Grunig says, is to raise “$50k for bakery equipment, furniture and all the small things needed to get open. Every little investment is one step closer to our goal.”

For more information on how to help Grunig get his bakery up and running, visit the Pocket Bakery Community Sourced Capital page.