Mission Cheese Plots a Full Restaurant Spinoff, Maker's Common

In its four years of life, Mission Cheese has turned into one of Valencia's most unstoppable hits, with crowds flocking to its outdoor patio for cheese plates, sandwiches, and rosé-fueled hangout sessions. Now, the team behind the cheese shop and cafe, Sarah Dvorak, Oliver Dameron, and Eric Miller, is plotting an even bigger spinoff, to be called Maker's Common.

While it has yet to secure a location, Maker's Common is on the hunt for a roughly 2,000-square-foot space with a full kitchen, about a quarter of which they'd use as a retail market with cheese, charcuterie, wine, bread, and beer to go. The rest would become a restaurant space with all of the hits from Mission Cheese (cheese and charcuterie plates, sandwiches, mac and cheese), as well as a menu of small non-cheese plates and an expanded housemade charcuterie program. Draft beer and possibly draft wine will be offered, and special pairing dinners with breweries and wineries will be part of the rotation.

To raise funds for the venture, Maker's Common is doing an online fundraiser, but instead of offering rewards on a Kickstarter-like site, they're issuing a direct public offering of promissory notes to investors (starting at $1,000) that will pay an annual interest rate of 4% (3% as cash, 1% as a gift card). Their goal is to raise $600K to secure and make over a space in SF, and they've been endorsed by, among others, Instagram cofounder Mike Krieger.

As for the name, Miller says it's intended to be a tribute to the people behind the products the shop and restaurant will sell. "We feel like it is our responsibility to pass on the soul and stories behind the products, and in our eyes, that is partnership. We're excited that we'll be able to carry more cheese, beer, wine, etc. when the new space is together."