Introduction

e$2$ is a small BYOB restaurant located on Bryant Street in the Highland Park neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA$.$ Its chef and owner are Kate Romane and the restaurant serves "rustic Mediterranean fare" using local produce and locally produced goods $($including produce grown on Churchview Farm for e$2).$ This is Kate Romane's first restaurant. The space is divided into two areas: the upstairs dining room $(10$ tables, $28$ seats$)$ and the downstairs "party dungeon" basement $($for events; can accommodate up to $85$ people$).$ Representative menu items include Chef Romane's much$-$loved meatballs and red sauce $($with a top$-$secret recipe!$),$ wild mushroom risotto, spaghetti aglio e olio $($a Roman classic perfectly reproduced!$),$ and pumpkin mascarpone ravioli with prosciutto and sage cream.

Chef Romane took over the space in early $2021$ and turned it into what is now e$2.$ They started serving soup during the infamous "Snowmageddon" blizzard in February $2021$ and expanded the menu and opening hours to what they are today. The chef and her team had never been happy with the restaurant's basement. By early $2022$ they had hosted several events $($e$.$g$.,$ wedding receptions, rehearsal dinners, birthday parties$)$ in the space, but, as Chef said, the space "really needs some love." For instance, it had $1990$s d$$cor$,$ unfortunate lighting, and some water damage. Despite these problems, the basement had proved valuable as an event space, and Chef had decided it was time to improve it$.$ The basement "party dungeon" space needed a renovation. Chef and her team developed a plan and set a relatively modest budget of $$17,000$ for the project. The plan involved transforming and updating the basement, so it was a flexible event space with communal tables, a new bar and cabinets, and, of course, fresh paint! Being a small community$-$focused business, however, these funds were not simply lying around. Instead, Chef, along with restaurant manager Jason Thomas, former sous$-$chef Lauren Urbschat $($Katz MBA$)$ and Eli Park$-$Yanovitch $($also a Katz MBA$),$ decided to turn to the community for help using the popular crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.