Oklava founders smash crowdfunding target in less than a week (updated)

The pair announced last week that they had launched a campaign on Kickstarter to raise £10,000​​ to help open Oklava Bakery + Wine in Fitzrovia next year.

The crowdfund has so far raised £15,789 from 88 backers, and is set to run for a further 12 days.

Rewards for pledges include tote bags, a signed Oklava cookbook, lunch and dinner and a year’s supply of baked goods.

Opening early next year on Kiazim and Christie's Kyseri site, Oklava Bakery + Wine is described as a move into ‘uncharted territories’, and will serve breakfast, lunch ‘and the best breads and pastries this side of the Bosphorus’.

The money is to be used to help install a custom-made cool room in one of the building’s underground vaults to allow the creation of Kiazim's Turkish breads and pastries, with additional funds also allowing the pair to purchase a ‘fancy dough machine’; a doner kebab machine; and ‘some snazzy new outdoor furniture and a take-away hatch’ for the new restaurant.

Writing on their crowdfunding page, Kiazim thanked all those who had donated, saying: “Your support means so much.

“2020 is shaping up to be an incredible year and that is all down to you!”

Kiazim and Christie launched the original Oklava in Shoreditch in 2015​​ and opened Kyseri in June last year.

They announced earlier this year that it was to be turned into a restaurant and bakery​​.

Commenting on the success of the crowdfund the following day (11 December), Kiazim and Christie said: "We are both so thrilled with the response to our Kickstarter, we consider ourselves very lucky to have such a loyal and generous customer base and are very excited to open Oklava Bakery + Wine in January 2020. We are over £16,000 at the moment with some amazing rewards still available and over a week left to go so we are hoping to gather a few more pennies in that time."

Visit the Kickstarter page here​​.