“We’d talked for years about opening a restaurant together and finally, the timing felt right – and our Pursuit team clearly wanted to help us secure the financing we needed,” says Jody Harris, who co-owns Ruby Begonia’s with her husband and chef, Todd Harris.
Here’s how two loans from Pursuit helped them launch the restaurant of their dreams in Chittenango, NY, where they combine elevated Southern-style comfort food and upscale dining in the village’s historic Delphia Block.
Bringing decades of experience
Between them, Jody and Todd had decades of experience in a range of hospitality venues, so they were deeply familiar with the opportunities and challenges of the restaurant industry.
“We learned so much over the years,” Jody says. “Most recently, Todd had been working at a vineyard that included a café and tasting room in the Finger Lakes. When the owners decided to close in late 2023, it felt like a ‘now or never’ moment to move forward with our dream.”
While the Harrises live in Cazenovia, they looked beyond their town to find a great opportunity for their vision, which includes a higher-end atmosphere complete with white linen, fine wine, and craft cocktails.
“We did a lot of research and when we looked at Chittenango, it just felt right,” Jody says of the village that’s about 15 miles from their home. In part, while it had a lot of family-style and fast-food restaurants, higher-end offerings with made-from-scratch dishes were harder to find. “Then, we saw this location in the Delphia Block. It was exactly what we’d been hoping to find.”
Gaining help and great recommendations
With help from the North Central Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Jody and Todd put together a strong business plan and financial projections. Then, with the location secured, they got to work on a complete renovation of the space, which hadn’t been used in several years. They also began their search for small business financing but ran into challenges.
“New restaurants are hard for a lot of banks to finance and that’s certainly true for the smaller banks in our region,” Jody explains. “Fortunately, the teams at the SBDC and one of the banks, Seneca Savings Bank, recommended that we try Pursuit – and that was great!”
Financing for startups and early-stage businesses
Jody and Todd worked with Pursuit Senior Business Development Officer Ethan Ruot. Together, they reviewed potential financing options, including the Main Street Capital Loan Fund. This special program was developed by Empire State Development and is offered through Pursuit for New York State-based small businesses in the startup and early stages. The loans can be used for working capital, equipment and other essential assets, staffing, and more. The loans include a fixed interest rate and borrowers only have to pay interest for the first year of the loan, which frees up more money each month to reinvest in their businesses.
“Because it’s available for start-up businesses, the Main Street loan was a great option for us,” Jody says.
She continues, saying, “The process was daunting for us because we had a tight timeline, but our Pursuit team was terrific. They guided us and ensured we stayed on track, which was critical because we’d started renovations with our savings but that could only get us so far.”
Along with the Main Street loan, which they used for renovations and to equip the restaurant, Jody and Todd also secured an SBA Microloan, which provided additional funding for the renovations and getting the business off the ground.
“Working with Jody and Todd was a great experience,” Ethan says. “They were incredibly engaged, responsive, and motivated from the start. We all agreed that using Pursuit’s new Main Street Capital loan program would be the best path to funding and, knowing that the timelines were tight, we all needed to move quickly and accurately to get this funding secured.”
He continues, saying, “It was a complete team effort between all involved at Pursuit, as well as for the Harrises, to get the approval they needed. Accessing this capital gave Ruby Begonia’s the final push to open its doors and serve the community.”
Honing ownership skills with Business Advisory Services
As business owners, Jody and Todd are learning about every detail that leads to success and, as Pursuit borrowers, they’re eligible for Business Advisory Services – expert consultants working with them on key areas, including marketing, financial management, and projections.
“We’re still in the process of fully leveraging the Business Advisory Services,” Jody says, “but we can see the positive impact they’ll have on Ruby Begonia’s.”
Creating new opportunities
While opening Ruby Begonia’s was a dream for Jody and Todd, one of the most satisfying surprises is how each of their daughters has taken on a role.
“Our daughter, Anjali, is making our cornbread, which has quickly become a local favorite. She’s also making our desserts, which include Coconut Cake and Hummingbird Cake,” Jody says. “And our daughters, Jana and Charlize, have taken on advisory roles to help us focus our time and resources on important details, like our menu items and creating an elevated atmosphere. It’s amazing to have the opportunity to work together like this.”
Right place, right time
For all the work and stress that goes into opening and operating a successful restaurant, there are signs that Ruby Begonia’s is exactly where it’s meant to be and at the right time: Todd found dishes online from a former restaurant in California that was called Ruby Begonia’s – and not only did they perfectly fit with the atmosphere that the Harrises were creating, but they had been produced at Syracuse China, a much-loved manufacturer that operated in the region from 1871 to 2009 – and, as they completed renovations, they found additional dishes from a former restaurant in their space with the same pattern as the Ruby Begonia’s dishes.
Pursuit has financing that supports small business success
“If you have a solid plan, a great vision, and the passion and commitment to see it through, you’ll find the support you need – that’s what we learned throughout the last couple of years,” Jody says. “And for us, finding Pursuit changed everything.”
Pursuit is a leading small business lender serving businesses across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Illinois, and Delaware. We offer loans and a line of credit for working capital, commercial real estate, equipment, and much more. We’ve helped thousands of small business owners get the funding they need to achieve their goals, and we can help you, too.