Pop-up restaurant fundraiser first is golden

It's a pop-up restaurant. A fundraiser. A crowd-funded themed dinner. All organized in less than a month and sold out in less than 33 hours, thanks to the work and creativity of local blogger Laura Arnold and Over-the-Rhine restaurateur Josh Campbell.
 

Just 25 tickets were available for the Golden Lawn Chair dinner, which, at $80 a couple, entitle diners to a five-course dinner themed around the idea of Uptown Americana: Trashy to Classy at Campbell’s Mayberry restaurant, at 1211 Main St., Nov. 18. The dinner will be followed by an after party, chances to win numerous raffle items, drink specials and live music.  
 

And every dime made after their costs are covered will go directly to the Free Store Food Bank. At this writing, they have raised more than $2,000 from ticket sales, with at least $1,000 of that slated for the food pantry. Arnold remains hopeful they will raise at least another $2,000 in raffles, auctions and one-of-a-kind events.
 

Think you are too late to get your tickets? Think again. A pair of golden tickets will be auctioned off for the last two seats at the dinner. The auction will run until the dinner, which will kick off with the awarding of the ceremonial golden tickets. After-party tickets, at $15 each, can be purchased at the door on Nov. 18.
 

“It’s been a blast," says Arnold, who writes the Cincinnati Nomerati blog. "We just kept adding things as we went: the dinner, an auction, the after party, raffle prizes. It was just and-and-and-and-and. Everyone has been so supportive.
 

“Josh has just been great to work with. We are going to have so many things going on: rounds of raffle bingo between courses, a kiddie pool filled with Hudy Delight … There’s been a lot of moving parts. I am pretty confident it will be fun.”
 

Followers of Arnold’s blog will recognize the theme and will understand the impetus for the creation of the pop-up restaurant.

Arnold started creating themed welcome-home dinners for her husband, David, who traveled monthly to Michigan for his job. She documented those dinners – the ideas, the menu and the preparation – on the blog. As David continued traveling, she continued to push herself to create more and more interesting and more intricate fare. 
 

“With David traveling, I had time to myself, so I started creating these fake menus with themed glassware, table layout and decorations," Arnold says. "It was really just a way to say: ‘glad you are home.' Things just progressed and I continued to push myself to experiment and make new things.’’
 

About a month or so ago, Arnold took the experimentation to a new level. She and Campbell started chatting about continuing the idea in a restaurant setting. He would shut down the restaurant for an evening; they would invite some friends and have a fun evening. It would be a one-night pop-up restaurant. And then they thought, why not make the event a fundraiser, given the dinner is the Sunday before Thanksgiving? The Free Store Food Bank was a natural fit. 
 

“They were all for it,’’ Arnold says.
 

Arnold says everyone she has contacted for gift cards has given. “I’ve been astonished and amazed and grateful at how generous everyone has been.’’
 

Several OTR chefs and personalities have donated their time and talent for special perk packages that folks can still purchase for varying amounts. In each case, one package is available, with 100 percent of the purchase price going to the Free Store Food Bank. Packages include:

· A Limoncella-making class for two at Nicola’s Restaurant for $100. 
 

· A cocktail-making class for up to four at Japps Since 1879 Bar, taught by perhaps Cincinnati’s most recognizable and best known bartender, Molly Wellman, for $200. ·

· A private pizza-making lesson for two at A Tavola, for $250.
 

· A private gelato-making lesson, during which a new flavor will be created and named, with the owner of Dojo Gelato, for $250.
 

While neither Arnold nor Campbell invented the pop-up idea, which is a restaurant or dining experience that opens and closes in just a few hours or days, coupling it with fundraising may be a first for Cincinnati.
 

“To my knowledge, nothing like this has been done before,’’ Arnold says. “But honestly, I really haven’t had time to look into that.”
 

Do Good
 

· Make a cash donation or buy a perk package.
 

· Find them on Facebook.
 

· Follow them on Twitter.
 

· Follow Arnold’s blog.