Cool or Not Cool: Using Kickstarter to Keep Your Restaurant in Business

You may have already heard that Park Slope's beloved dessert joint, The Chocolate Room, is moving down the street from its current location. Here's the scoop from Ariele, the Operations Manager:

I’m reaching out to you today because I want to make you aware that our
beloved 5th Avenue store is going to be moving. We are being forced out of
our current space because of rising rents; luckily, we have found a new
home just blocks from the flagship location. We have taken occupation of
the new shop and construction has begun, but it is extremely costly. With
this in mind, we are wondering if you might want to support our
fundraising efforts. Would you have any interest in writing about our
chocolate, our stores and the Kickstarter campaign that we are running to
help us collect funds??

Look, we are big fans of The Chocolate Room here at FIPS. The only problem I really have with the place is that it's impossible to decide whether I want the hot fudge sundae or the root beer float. The new location sounds pretty awesome, especially if it means shorter waits for a table, but there's something about asking your customers to help fund your expansion that just feels a little...wrong. Sure, there are some nice "rewards" if you contribute at any level. I don't know. Maybe I'm just suffering from Kickstarter ennui. How about you?