With that understanding, I took the street to its west, 8th Avenue, and went down the street, working the shops there.
I talked to Juice Generation on that street, where I took a card from the associate to email the main office about my project.
Not long after, I turned right onto West 57th street, and worked the shops there. The rain had picked up in strength a bit, and I didn't have an umbrella. What to do? Well, I simply had to brave it, and keep going.
I made a stop at ABA Turkish Restaurant, where I spoke to the manager on duty, Barack, and took an email to follow up with Hank, the owner, who was not in the restaurant at the time.
The same thing happened at Chenille Cleaners and Tailors, having to take an email address to contact the absent owner. This happens often with projects like this, so it's best to keep a good attitude about it, knowing that your sole purpose is to speak to one or two owners, one of whom will likely agree to share his story with you. Life itself is no different.
At Matles Florist, the next shop, I actually spoke to the owner, and explained what I was about. He pointed to the loads of work he has to do, and how that leaves him very little time to do anything else. I made a point about possibly doing a five minute interview, but he turned that down too. Understanding his busyness to a degree, I thanked him, and moved on.
I walked past a few more shops, and made quick unsuccessful stops at one or two more restaurants before stopping at Morning Star Restaurant, a restaurant on 57th street. Costas Nestoros, the owner, was in a conversation when I got there, and the lady associate I introduced myself to, before asking to speak to the owner, suggested I speak to the manager instead. The manager, after hearing my purpose, said the owner would not be interested. I was not sure of that.
Sitting close-by, Costas seemed to sense the conversation was about him. I had asked the manager if he would let the owner speak for himself, when Costas signaled me towards him to hear my purpose. I told him, and he went into a breakdown of how difficult things have gotten for small business owners like him in New York City, and why it may not be worth my time to try to learn from him. It's difficult to make a decent living from this, he seemed to be telling me.
He was sharing his honest thoughts with me, and I could sense that. He rarely has a day off, working 7 days a week, and had to deal with inconsistencies with employees, who often quit without notice, and he's then called in when something like that happens.
Overall, he wanted to discourage me or anyone else to stay clear of starting a restaurant in New York City. This is not very different from Alfred's counsel. Alfred, who owns Central Market, New York, and I had interviewed on Day 2, also said something about how difficult things have gotten for small eateries, pointing over and over again to exorbitant fines and fees.
Yet for his thoughts on the day-to-day operations of his business, Costas agreed to an interview on Monday, the 19th, at 3:30 pm.
Quick Note: During my 21-Day project in Austin, the some of the owners I spoke to there also pointed out property taxes as something that makes doing business difficult for them.
Stopping at The Flame Restaurant, I spoke to Yamika, a pretty young attendant who wanted me to stop by sometime in the mornings or afternoons to speak to the owner, who often leaves before 3pm. I was there at about 4pm, and since I pick different sections of streets and work them, when I go out to prospect, it's difficult to promise to come back.
The owner of Europan Bakery & Cafe, where I made my next stop, simply turned down the opportunity to share his story, saying he wasn't interested at all.
Danny, the manager at Park West Valet Cleaners, wanted me to try back tomorrow.
At Yanza Shoe Repairs I made my longest stop. Johnny and Rigoberto ( plus photos) run this shoe repair shop. This was the most interesting of my stops for the day. The folks who worked here seemed modest and friendly. Rigoberto seems in his late fifties or early sixties; and Johnny seems in his late twenties or early thirties.
We talked about the origin of the business, where they are from originally, and how they both got into the shoe repair business. Both Johnny and Rigoberto are from Ecuador, and have been working at this particular location for roughly ten years---Rigoberto's the owner and Johnny is his apprentice.
Since Rigoberto spoke very little English, Johnny took it upon himself to converse with me about my project and what I wanted to know, while he occasionally explained things in Spanish to Rigoberto. Though Johnny himself didn't speak fluent English, he did a good job of holding the conversation and translating.
As Johnny made me know, they have to work long hours and are in stiff competition with a lot of other shoe repair shops. Yet they are still in business, and it's for the loyalty of their customers who still bring their repair needs to them
A few photos of the two:
My last stop of the day was at Sfilantino, Italian Gourmet, where I spoke to the owner, who took my blog's URL so he can have a look at it himself, and then get back to me.
With nightfall comes time to close up prospecting, and that's what I did. I caught the "D" train and was home in about 40 minutes.
On to day 4.
