 |
 |
 |
 |
|
SUCCESS STORIESSUGO's Restaurant
Lindsay and Damien Cavicchi Lindsay and Damien Cavicchi opened SUGO’s restaurant at 90 Patton Avenue in downtown Asheville in August 2007. This restaurant has been a long-time dream for the couple, who met in Asheville while working together at a leading upscale Italian restaurant. The road to this point was not easy – as is the case for most small business owners – but for Damien and Lindsay, it has been a steady and continuous success story. Damien, a native of New Orleans, has enjoyed cooking all of his life. His formal kitchen experience began in a Florida “Mom and Pop” restaurant that served breakfast, lunch and dinner. At the age of 20, he was thrust into managing the kitchen when the chief cook left unexpectantly. From Florida, Damien moved to Boone where he worked as head chef of two fine dining restaurants, and then on to Asheville as executive chef at the restaurant where he met Lindsay. Lindsay came to Asheville from San Francisco where, as she describes it, she got “restaurant blood,” working as a server at the age of 15. She now assumes the bulk of the business side of SUGO’s operations while Damien handles the kitchen. Both agree that their skills complement each other, making their partnership a “perfect match.” The two soon discovered they shared a dream of opening their own restaurant. In 2005, retail space became available in the River District and Lindsay and Damien decided to move ahead with a business of their own. They came to SCORE to seek advice on taxes, payroll, running a business, and preparing a business plan. Both had behind the scenes experience running a kitchen and managing the front end of a restaurant, but they were looking for help with the business side. After developing a business plan with Ron Schmid, their SCORE counselor, they investigated Mountain Micro Enterprise Fund (now Mountain BizWorks) as a source of financing. With hard work and determination, they opened Clingman Avenue Coffee and Catering Company – frequently called Clingman Café. In April 2007, they sold Clingman Café as a profitable, turnkey business, the final stepping stone to their ultimate dream restaurant that they had been planning for over the past seven years. SUGO – just three months young – is everything they hoped for. Damien describes it as, “Euro-Italian, specializing in food that generally is unusual to make at home,” like home-made pastas and sausages. He believes SCORE played an integral role for a couple that had the passion to pursue their dream, but little business sense, and got them started on the path towards success. To Damien and Lindsay – now married with a blended family of three daughters from previous marriages and a two-year-old son of their own – all this seems like a fairy tale. But the story leading up to it is one of hopes and dreams, hard work, and smart business practice.
Return to Current Success Story
|
