Local Creative Industry Steps Up to Help Save Kosher Bakery

By now you may have heard that favorite local kosher bakery Pratzels is shutting down. We've actually never heard of Pratzels and can only guess that this might be for two reasons: 1. We're rarely in Creve Couer 2. We're not Jewish. Not that you have to be Jewish or Creve Couerian to eat at a kosher bakery, but surely it increases the odds.

Multiple sites have already covered this so we're just going to help get the word out to all you millionaires in hiding who have always wanted to own a kosher bakery - you will basically get the dopest ad campaign that any kosher bakery has ever received.

Here are the shops that have signed on to help, we can only guess that this list will keep on growing until someone finally buys the bakery:

1. Aaron Corson of NJC Printing has offered $1,000 in free printing services. Their only stipulation is they want one complimentary upside down cupcake. I am going out on a limb and saying Pratzel’s will oblige!

2. Matt Mathison of Avid Magazine has offered a full-page ad in their magazine. In fact, they are offering a full-page ad in ALL TEN magazines they publish this year! That is NUTS!

3. Gregg Goldman of Goldman Photo has offered free photography services. We had mentioned photography as part of our initial offer, with our own Steve Hartman handling the duties. Gregg will rock this work, if given the chance.

4. Greg Bussmann of Exec Business Products is throwing in an HP Inkjet printer ($189 value) and $100 in office supplies.

5. Meredith Elkin (@rockstarima on Twitter) of Stitch The Earth is offering to make retro-designed aprons for the entire staff. The aprons will be hand-crafted from organic hemp and cotton. To quote Meredith, “Hell, I’ll do anything just to have Pratzel’s back.”

6. Danny Hommes of Pixelography is offering free digital imaging services.

7. Holly Schopp of Reach Local will help the new owners claim all of their business listings on Google, Bing, Yahoo, City Search, etc. She will also volunteer to work with Falk Harrison and any other marketing firms that get involved to develop a creative strategy to mobilize the fans of Pratzel’s to contribute online reviews.

8. Allyson Mace of Sauce Magazine has stepped forward with a free ad in Sauce’s March 2011 issue. The ad will be a summary of all of the donated goods and services that you’re reading about in this blog post. This gives us a great chance to get in front of potential buyers with this incentive package. Thank you Allyson for supporting the St. Louis culinary community!

9. Ben Kaplan of Act3 has offered to take Pratzel’s through the Act3 Storytelling Process. The process will help clarify and frame the story that Pratzel’s needs to tell in order to grow and thrive, and the new owners will walk away with a Storyboard document that captures the Pratzel’s story. Falk Harrison, Reach Local, and Act3 will work together to map out a strategy for telling the story going forward. Thank you to Ben, Eric Ratinoff, and Shawn McGinness for pitching in!

10. Emily Kaufman Leong of Slice of Lime Design, a small design and stationary studio, is offering to donate new paper collateral, such business cards, coupons, and flyers. Emily says she grew up on Pratzel’s bagels, and can’t imagine St. Louis without them.

All we need is a buyer!

Who else wants to make this new-buyer-package offer over-the-top? Reach out to me at creimer@falkharrison.com and let me know!