Will Sissle and Mary Chapman-Sissle plan to open Sissle & Daughters Coffee, Wine Bar & Grocer in Woodfords Corner in early October and are using the crowdfunding platform NuMarket to finance the expansion. The couple also own The Cheese Shop of Portland on Washington Avenue. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

The owners of the Cheese Shop of Portland are turning to their loyal customers and the wider community for financial support to develop a cafe, wine bar and market they plan to open in Woodfords Corner in October.

The catch is: whatever people give now, they get it back – and more – to spend in the store.

Mary Chapman-Sissle and Will Sissle are the latest Maine business owners to launch a campaign through NuMarket, a Boston-based crowdfunding platform designed specifically for food and beverage companies during the pandemic. The model sees donors receive 120% of their donation back in six monthly installments as store credit that never expires. So a $100 donation is returned in six payments of $20 each, for a total of $120. NuMarket receives 9% of the total funds raised.

The campaign’s goal is to raise $150,000 to fund initial inventory, kitchen equipment and expansion of Sissle & Daughters Coffee, Wine Bar & Grocer in a former auto repair shop on Forest Avenue. As of Thursday evening, $42,677 had been raised from 231 donors – enough to fund a meat slicer and an espresso machine.

Chris Wheaton of Portland said he contributed $300 to the campaign because he thought “getting a 20 percent return on the investment is a fantastic deal.”

“I can spend money I was going to spend anyway … and help them,” said Wheaton, who owns North Optical and an art space on Washington Avenue, not far from The Cheese Shop, where he often stops by to buy a sandwich to take to work.

Donors can use the credits either at The Cheese Shop (starting 30 days after the campaign ends on August 30) or at the new store when it opens, but must choose either (or make two separate donations).

Chapman-Sissle said she and her husband chose NuMarket because it puts a community first and is less expensive than taking out a loan from the bank.

“Given how high interest rates are now, we would have to pay many thousands of dollars a month just for the loan payments, and this is a slower cash flow than if we were to pay back huge amounts all at once,” she said.

Since its launch three years ago, NuMarket has worked with more than 100 businesses, some of them on multiple crowdfunding campaigns. In Maine, for example, that included The Place Bakery in Camden, which purchased a walk-in refrigerator, and Cong Tu Bot in Portland, which opened another restaurant, Oun Lido’s.

Chelsea Kravitz, co-owner of The Place Bakery, said it was cheaper and more efficient to fund the fridge through NuMarket than using another crowdfunding platform like Kickstarter, which rewards fundraisers with gifts that often have to be shipped rather than simply giving them money or a store credit.

“On Kickstarter … you can contribute $5 and get a postcard … or $25 and a hat or $50 and a T-shirt – all kinds of things,” Kravitz said. “But often it ends up being more work than a company expects, just in terms of producing these items and getting them to the people who back Kickstarter campaigns.”

“IT’S REALLY, REALLY EASY”

“And with NuMarket, it’s really easy,” Kravitz said. “A NuMarket campaign is cheaper for you than a Kickstarter campaign or a bank loan.”

NuMarket founder Ross Chanowski said he was inspired to create the platform by observing the struggles of many of his favorite companies during the pandemic.

“It seemed like the right time to create NuMarket so that the people that these businesses serve and the people that really care about them can be the ones that not only fund these businesses but also benefit from them,” he said. “Every business wants to build a stronger connection to the community and we can help with that.”

Chanowski sees something special in the family dynamic of Sissle & Daughters, something he believes NuMarket stands for.

“I think they really embody the best of a small independent business, which is real people,” Chanowski said. “A real family trying to do something important, not only for their community, but for their children.”

Katie McNally of Portland, a regular customer at the Cheese Shop, donated to the fundraiser – although she declined to disclose the amount – because she believes Sissle & Daughters will enrich Portland.

“I’m excited that it will be a new gathering place,” said McNally, 34. “I think it will be a real blessing for Portland.”

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