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Category:
Published: March 2007
At the age of twenty two Deena Ecker took the huge financial risk of starting her own restaurant. Two years later, she has become so successful that she is already considering expanding. Learn how she found her funding and made her niche in the Capital Region.
In the past few months, we here at Success have given our Up and Coming Entrepreneur Award to larger firms, such as the space age Starfire or the now multi-million dollar Planet Fitness franchise. This month, Success is going back to our roots, highlighting a start-up entrepreneur who started her business, Mezzo Marketplace, at the age of twenty two. At that age, most young women would be paying off college debt or working a smalltime job while living with their parents. Deena Ecker is not your average women.
Since she was a child, Deena had a dream of opening up her own restaurant. Most people would simply have given up on this dream as they grew older and became aware of the twin obstacles of expertise and financing. Deena did not. Instead, she spent over a year researching potential locations, refining her cooking skills, learning accounting, and applying for grants. She applied for and won several grants, including the coveted $25,000 Small Business Administration Federal loan. In her interview with Success, Deena describes how she started her business and her plans for the future.
Success Magazine: Deena, could you share with us how you established your business?
Deena Ecker: The business was something I started at a young age. I researched our location for about a year and a half. We then purchased the building and started researching possible grants available for our new venture. I went to my local Chamber of Commerce and after I learned about the EAP , which is a government funded program that offers you professional advice and grants if you meet certain requirements. I had reviewed my business plan with the EAP and then I received a $1,000 grant from First Niagara for having the best business plan amongst the participants. With that program certification I had the credentials to obtain a business loan from the SBA for $25,000.
SM: What made you go into this business? How did you get started in this business?
DE: My family had a mom and pop Italian restaurant, so I guess I had it in my blood. I went to college and studied different things, but I knew the restaurant business was my niche. After college I spent some time traveling around Europe and I had the opportunity to sample a lot of different types of food. It was there that I found the kind of dishes that I wanted to make and more in touch with the kind of restaurant that I wanted.
SM: What is the focus of your restaurant?
DE: The focus is eating healthily. We provide slow food fast and by that I mean nutritious, well prepared food that doesn't take an hour to make. Food that is familiar to the customer, food that is healthy and is prepared for them so that at the end of a busy work day they can just pick it up and know that their family is eating well. My cook is Chilean and Italian and I am Italian-American so our menu tends to be Mediterranean. We also cook seasonally, so in the winter we cook the heartier meals that food that sticks to your bones like beef stew and in the summer we cook foods that are very healthy that they can eat outside on the patio like cold salads.
SM: You have a very friendly layout, is the patio new?
DE: We had the patio before but this year we got our wine and beer license so we wanted the patio to be a unique environment to Albany. To do that, we made a menu called "small plates," similar to Spanish Tapas, which people order off of an evening menu served to those seated outside along with wine and beer. It really gives the restaurant a unique Mediterranean feel that is unique in this area.
SM: As a female business owner, did you find that you were treated any differently?
DE: I would say that it is more difficult. I think that initially it was hard to be taken seriously because I was a woman and I was only 22 years old when I started. But I had already been married for 4 years and traveled the world with my husband so I had a breadth of experience and I had a strong desire to succeed. Being a woman certainly didn't help me but any opposition that I received only made me more driven to make it happen.
SM: Was it easy to obtain a loan?
DE: It was harder to borrow a smaller amount than the larger loans which wanted to give me $250,00 and saddle me with debt. I didn't need that much money, however, since I had used my savings to purchase the building and most of the equipment. Having a college degree, the EAP backing and the Chamber backing helped me immensely to get the loans I needed. They gave me the necessary credibility.
SM: What is the future of your business?
DE: I want to really maximize this building and make this restaurant a destination spot. I would love to open another Mezzo restaurant where we really focus upon the things that we do well here and would be within an arms length of here. We want to develop a loyal following.
SM: I can see that you have a lot of loyal customers, how did you establish that relationship?
DE: We have a very loyal following. We have developed a tremendous relationship with our customers simply because they know the quality and care that goes into our meals. We have executives and families that will spend hundreds of dollars purchasing our food and bringing it home to their families. We are their own personal professional chefs on call to make them anything that they want.
SM: I understand that you also teach cooking classes?
DE: We have an interactive cooking class on Friday evening: Mezzo Cooks with Chef Jay. It is $60 per person and it is a wonderful experience. We have a focus on technique and ingredient cooking within our kitchen. Learning how to prepare the foods, cook and serve everything in a professional manner. The students learn a lot but also have a lot of fun.
SM: What one word describes your restaurant?
DE: Familiar; familiar faces, familiar food, familiar preparation. Our food is familiar and comfortable professional food served family style.
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