Houston Chronicle
By DAVID KAPLAN
Copyright 2004, April 10, 2004
Cafe owner won't let setbacks crush dreams
His lunch menu includes burgers, shish kebab, fajita wraps and appetizers such as baba ghanoush , stuffed grape leaves and hummus. When he gets the brick oven working, he'll make pizza and calzone.
His breakfast items include tacos, pancakes and the "Turquoise Omelet," made of spinach, red peppers, mushrooms, mozzarella and feta cheese.
His marble walls and travertine floors are imported from Turkey.
Dokuyucu applied for a Small Business Administration loan through Frost Bank, where he says one of the senior vice presidents, Ken Hutto, became a father figure and mentor.
After getting the loan, Dokuyucu told Hutto, "I'll never let you down."
Perhaps that promise is one reason he isn't letting himself get discouraged by travails that included having to wait six weeks to get his city permits.
"If you have a grand opening that goes off without a hitch, you're a rarity," said James Evans, assistant region director at the University of Houston Small Business Development Center.
It could be a shipment that is late in coming in, a carpenters union that goes on strike or construction cost overruns, he said.
It's best to plan for the unexpected, Evans said, because if you are underfinanced in the early days of your business, you can get in serious trouble fast.
