Daily News:  Making $1M Is A Matter of 'Course'

Workshop Led To Thriving Eatery: Joyce Shelby

It's probably the best $90 bucks George Constantinou or Farid Ali ever spent.

Back in 2003, the two men pooled their resources to plunk down the money to learn how to open their own restaurant. They opened Bogota Latin Bistro which serves Central and South American comfort foods 16 months-ago and in the last year their Park Slope restaurant has generated revenues close to $1 million, Constantinou said.

Both he and Ali grew up eating some of the dishes they now serve. Constantinou's dad is Greek Cypriot; his mom Costa Rican. Ali's father is Palestinian and mother Colombian.

"I had no idea how to open a restaurant," said Ali, who worked in information technology at a Manhattan law firm. "I saw a story in the local papers about WIBO (Workshop In Business Opportunities): $90 for a 16-week course. It sounded too good to be true."

"George had always wanted to open a restaurant," Ali said. "I called him and offered, 'if you take this course with me, I will consider going into business with you.'  Constantinou, who had worked at an internet advertising company, was managing a Fort Greene restaurant at the time and jumped at the offer. 

"From the first day I became manager, I knew I wanted to open up a restaurant," Constantinou said. "Farid initially was tired of hearing me talk about it. The WIBO course turned him around."

The 16 week course, "How To Build A Growing Business," offered basics and chances to talk with experts in various fields of business. Through the WIBO course, the men learned about resources in the Brooklyn Business Library at Cadman Plaza, as well as the library's annual business plan contest. They entered and won, which meant $10,000 in cash plus $10,000 in services such as marketing assistance, logo and branding services, legal and other services.

"The restaurant industry is really risky," Constantinou said. "We had no proven track record. A lot of banks didn't want to take the risk and loan us the money needed to open our business."

After 15 rejections, the partners secured a loan, found a site and opened their restaurant's doors.

Comfort food specialities include: arroz con pollo (chicken and rice), bandeja paisa (a grilled skirt steak platter) and chipotle corn-crusted salmon, a Nuevo Latino dish served with cilantro mashed potatoes.

Ali and Constantinou recently returned to WIBO to be recognized as the group celebrated its 40th anniversary.

WIBO executive director Amini Kanjunju said of the partners, "We saw them from the time they had just an idea to the time when their concept was realized. It was inspiring to see these two young men put their heads together and put their resources together to make something happen."