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Neko Taiyaki

Neko Taiyaki is a brand new food pop up in West Michigan that is serving up a new twist on a traditional Japanese street food dessert.
https://www.neko-taiyaki.com
January 5×5 Night at Start Garden
Voting Closes:

January 20, 2025 11:59 pm

About this idea
Neko Taiyaki has been a dream of mine since 2019. I had just returned from a year of teaching English in Japan and I missed living there so much. Making taiyaki, a traditional Japanese fish-shaped stuffed waffle, became the dream. It wasn't until early 2023 that the dream finally materialized and I began my journey to get this business started. My goal is to make as authentic-as-possible taiyaki and use local Michigan ingredients wherever possible. I started with my first event in July and have done a handful of events since then. Now it's time to bring more taiyaki to Grand Rapids.
Impact
When people think of Japanese food, they typically think of sushi or ramen, but there is so much more. The impact is sharing another aspect of a different culture with West Michigan. The real impact is putting a smile on someone's face when they bite into one of my fish waffles.
What I'll do with $5,000
Neko Taiyaki started out as a small indoor and tent based pop up, and now I'm ready to get the ball rolling on expanding and purchasing a food truck or trailer. The $5000 will be used towards a down payment
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