I started in the restaurant business. It was one of my first jobs when I was 15 years old. I got the opportunity to design some menus and kitchens and opened a bakery/cafe on Miami Beach. The week after 9/11.
We have obviously had to go through the ups and downs in the economy, 9/11 and everything else in between. So it has been challenging. I went to the SBA to get loans and it was next to impossible for a small restaurant to get financing.
Lime Fresh Mexican Grill opened in February of 2004. Outside of having a love of Mexican food, there were really just one or two Mexican restaurants in Miami. We really took a different spin on Mexican -- cook with no lard, vegetarian options.
At the time, I was still operating the bakery cafe. It was extremely successful from the moment it opened. We have 10 open, and we have another 17 stores coming in the next 13 months.
About a year ago we signed a franchise agreement with Ruby Tuesdays. We will probably be rolling out 25 to 45 stores per year for the next five to seven years.
We are always hiring. We are in the restaurant business. It is a constant, constant process for us. Each restaurant that opens for us -- three will open in the next six weeks -- hires 40 to 50 employees. The majority are full time, but it is a combination of full and part time. We have created, in the last couple years, several hundred jobs without a doubt.
I am cautiously optimistic of what I am going to hear from President Obama. I am certainly interested. I hate to sound negative, but I certainly don't expect much from this administration at this point.
You are directly taxing the people who are trying to grow the economy in many ways. Looking at the business tax rates as well as the individual tax rates, it is impossible to grow the economy. I don't think we are competitive with some of the corporate tax rates.
Health care seems to be the biggest dooming looming dark cloud for small restaurants. What got passed and the language that was passed is literally a death sentence for most small restaurants.
[Editor's note: Under the new reform, many companies will have to provide their employees with health care coverage and if they don't, they pay penalties.]
The reality is that it is cheaper for small business to pay the penalty than to provide health care at the skyrocketing premiums available to us. I believe it would be more beneficial to reduce the cost of health care so more people can afford to buy insurance.
Tax credits are so minute that they are not moving the needle for small business. They are like Band-Aids. Still, every dollar you put back in the small business owner's pocket to help grow his or her business is a positive step.
Health care and taxes are definitely at the top of the heap for me. -- C.C.
Be polite and professional when giving an employee the boot. And if the person getting fired starts to lose it, duck.
