Decorah business owners turn to "Kickstarter" to help finance their expansion

(Left to right): Natham Matter and Benji Nichols

When Nathan Matter and Benji Nichols wanted to expand their business, they turned to a website to help raise some of the funds.

The two are using kickstarter.com to raise $8,125 towards the cost of renovating the basement of the Old Armory for an expansion of The Courtyard, allowing the outdoor tavern to expand to an indoor space, allowing the business to operate year-round.

The project will be funded only if at least $8,172 is pledged by 7:23 p.m. Saturday, January 25th.  That doesn't seem like too much of a reach at this point--they have already received $7,863 from 125 backers as of Sunday.

Money given to the project is not a donation, but also not an investment.  Matter and Nichols are offering "rewards" for pledging money towards the project, so they say using kickstarter.com is a way of "pre-selling" items the business will offer.  For instance, 24 people have pledged $35 and will receive a Courtyard & Cellar t-shirt, koozie and a ticket to the launch party for the basement area.

"It really is a crowd source concept," says Nichols.  Matter says kickstarter.com has been used quite a bit by restaurants, although he believes this is the first time a Decorah restaurant/tavern has used the website.  Nichols says in addition to raising money, kickstarter helps raise interest in the project and is a good way for business owners to gauge interest in their project.

As for the remodeling of the basement at the Old Armory, Matter and Nichols hope to open for business in March.,  The two say if you know what the Courtyard was, you will know what the Cellar will be.  "We're sticking to what we know," say the two.