Chef Abdul Hagheghi has been a Chef more than 25 years and has worked for various restaurants, country clubs, and most recently was the chef for Spohn South Hospital here in Corpus Christi. He has always wanted to start his own restaurant and now that dream has become a reality. Mr. Hagheghi and his partner Juan Gutierrez found an ideal location for their new venture and purchased the land at a bargain price.

They needed funding for the construction of their facility and the purchase of equipment, furniture and fixtures. They sought the assistance of the Small Business Development Center at Del Mar where they were assigned to Nathan Offermann.

After review of the project scope, it was determined that an SBA 504 Loan would be very attractive with 30% of the total project cost being from debentures at a fixed interest rate and 50% of the total project cost from a bank that has first lien on the overall property.

Mr. Offermann suggested that there should be two entities established; one as a Subchapter S Corporation for the Operating Company (OC) for day to day operations and to hold the liquor license, and the other as a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) to hold the appreciable assets of land and building that will be leased to the OC. The LLP will be set up to meet all of the 504 Loan requirements to be an Eligible Passive Company (EPC). A subordinated lease will be drawn up between the OC and the EPC for the term of the loan.

Three sets of proforma financial statements were created to accurately depict the financial position of this operation. Income, cash flow, and balance sheets were created for the Operating Company Subchapter S Corporation, one for the Limited Liability Partnership for the Eligible Passive Company, and consolidated financial statements to determine overall cash flow, return on investment, and debt service ratios from combined operations.

The package was presented to Mr. Heffler at Texas Certified Development Company, who commented that it was one of the best packages he had seen. Mr. Heffler completed the 504 loan requirements and submitted the package to several banks for the 50% portion of the funding. Closing at the bank will be November 23rd

The opening of this business will create 23 new jobs and will add an additional $992,500.00 to the local tax base.

Ground breaking ceremonies was held Monday November 29th. Local media and dignitaries will be invited for the event. Chef Abdul and his partner Juan are now close to seeing their dreams become a reality.