For those seeking to begin a business in the fiercely competitive metropolis of New York City, a recent partnership may help get their idea off the ground.
The recent partnership between Samuel Adams Brewing Company and ACCION USA, a not-for-profit microlending organization, has extended an opportunity for many to achieve success within the food, beverage and hospitality sectors. Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program recently extended its resources to New York City, as well as Ohio and the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, expecting to provide loans totaling at least $250,000 to small businesses within the city. The program’s ultimate goal is to loan $1,000,000 by the end of 2011.
“Jim Koch is very passionate about this,” a spokesperson for the founder of Samuel Adams Beer said. “This is the situation he went through, not being able to get loans through traditional means. He believes that there is room for everyone to be successful. Boston Beer and Sam Adams now have a strong imprint making a difference for a lot of people. A lot of people aren’t aware that there is this money out there – and our main message is we want to share.”
Starting out as a struggling entrepreneur that hatched a beer brewing empire from his kitchen, Koch is aware of the many challenges people face when managing a business. That is why he has also implemented a speed-coaching program, arming potential entrepreneurs with invaluable advice key to running a growing business.
While attempting to reclaim his family’s place within the brewing industry 27 years ago, Koch’s requests for financing were rejected several times.
“I’ve never forgotten how hard it is for the little guy to get started, which is essentially why we created Brewing the American Dream,” Koch has said. “It’s our way of giving back and helping other small business owners with a dream.”
“If you have a dream – you have to go for it,” Riccardo Romero, owner of Arepas Café in Astoria said.
Based on his expertise with truffles, a rare and extremely expensive mushroom, Romero seeded his business in 2007 with his first loan from ACCION USA. He now incorporates this unique specialty in crafting 21 varieties of gourmet arepas, traditionally a staple of Venezuelan cuisine, which is cornmeal-based, stuffed with cheese and wheat free.
“When I opened my business, at that time, I still needed part of the materials that were important,” Romero said. “It was very important that I got that (first) loan.”
In February of this year, Romero obtained a second loan to expand seating for his growing community of customers; procuring space for an additional 20 seats from an adjacent building. Romero was able to successfully complete payments on his first loan in August.
According to representatives, Romero is the first recipient of a loan through the joint efforts of Samuel Adams and ACCION, which recently expanded its philanthropic practices after observing the program’s significant success in New England.
“I would say my business has expanded at least 40 percent,” he said, estimating growth from when the restaurant originally opened. “Before I was only able to seat about 35 people; now it’s over 55. Every single customer that walks in is a little more comfortable inside the restaurant.”
As a consultant with ACCION, Elizabeth Bueno first met Romero in July of 2010 before he applied for his second loan, and says she still regularly maintains correspondence with Romero.
“We are here to help these people and their families,” Bueno said. “We want to make an investment in them, which certainly mirrors a familial aspect.”
“We don’t only deal with numbers,” Bueno continued. “We want to get the real story behind those numbers. Some people are turned away because a particular financial period wasn’t so good. We want to find out what has been going on within that period of time. For example, someone might have an ill relative, maybe they had brain surgery or something, and things were really tight.
“We take into consideration these types of stories because they are valid, and it’s all part of life. You have to have this dialogue to understand someone else’s situation. It is important to have that kind of transparency.”