Following some difficult financial news threatening beloved restaurant Little Brickhouse, co-owner Katharina sits down to talk to us about an upcoming fundraising festival on 18 March, which is expected to be “full of beautiful food, music & togetherness”...
Katharina and Joakim, the owners of Little Brickhouse, have always had a passion for combining dining and entertainment - and so, after having to relocate from a shipping container in Sherwood during the COVID pandemic, they spotted the Little Brickhouse building from the Hand and Heart pub opposite. They both immediately fell in love with it and wanted to make it their own.
With Little Brickhouse being a Nottingham staple for many people, the business has begun to receive more recognition throughout the years, including from the likes of The Guardian, and as a result the community that Katharina and Joakim have created is flourishing. However, a recent visit revealed structural issues with the building, which the couple have only until July to fix - and they were faced with the difficult financial dilemma of what to do next.
After applying for “different business loans and other kinds of funding” it quickly became apparent that setting up a Kickstarter online and an in-person fundraising festival at Little Bricks is a potential opinion for trying to save the premises.
They both immediately fell in love with it and wanted to make it their own
One of the most special things about Little Bricks is the combination of dining and entertainment. The venue downstairs, which is called Below Bricks, is a space which welcomes talent to perform in an intimate and inclusive environment. This is used for various events and will be a key part of the fundraising day on 18 March. Katharina and Joakim intend to “invest in Below Bricks so that people can come and play their music and get looked after by us.”
The event is set to connect lots of different independent businesses around Nottingham and showcase the creativity which flows through the city. Katharina told us that they have “received so much wonderful feedback from artists and DJs who want to play for free, past colleagues and friends who are offering to help us and work for free.” The overwhelming response was received by the owners with such sheer gratitude because of “all the kindness they have received”, and Katharina says that she “hasn’t been able to take it all in, it is beautiful to get so much niceness.”
Little Brickhouse put out an Instagram post in January and the comments demonstrated the masses of support for the fundraiser. Lots of artists, photographers, and clothing businesses have been offering to help through donations and more general support at the event - which has been greatly appreciated by Katharina and Joakim.
Little Bricks is much more than just a restaurant and Katharina and Joakim provide their little community with a “different way of enjoying food”, and it has become a “hope for lots of creative people from Nottingham.” Although the festival is a last resort for raising enough funds to cover the costs of all the required renovations, a lot of time and effort has evidently gone into the planning to allow the wider creative community to benefit from such positive exposure.
Little Brickhouse are holding their fundraiser on Saturday 18 March, and their Kickstarter campaign is now live
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