901 Wethersfield Avenue
www.costadelsolrestaurant.net
$60,000 HCLF participation in $120,000 Bank of America loan

L-R Francisco Feijoo and Pepe Feijoo

It’s not immediately obvious how one can transform from stone mason to renown restaurateur; until Pepe Feijoo explains his career path. "My family moved here from Spain in 1966," he explains, "and we wanted to start a Spanish cuisine restaurant. We were very close and also very, very traditional. Thanks to everybody’s hard work, we had all the tools we needed in the house: a chef, a bookkeeper and a general manager. We found this brand new building on Wethersfield Avenue, and I worked as a mason by day while spending any free time (nights, weekends and all) doing the build-out of the whole interior space." Thus Costa del Sol was born in 1986, and will celebrate its 20^th anniversary on New Years Eve of 2006. Pepe proudly states, "We’re one of Hartford’s oldest white tablecloth restaurants, and all because of hard work."

The restaurant business is not kind to startups, with a higher failure rate than any other business. Pepe scoffs, "The banks practically showed me the door when we first got started! They knew the numbers: seven out of ten new restaurants go under." In any case, the family’s old-school traditions fueled their desire to pay for the restaurant with sweat equity and personal family savings. Eventually, by the late nineties, Costa del Sol’s success led the family to plan an expansion. "The economy was picking up, so we decided it was a good time to spend some money investing in the business. We were thinking of adding a bar and foyer, as well as enclosing the front of the restaurant," Pepe remembers. Capitalizing on empty space readily available in the building, they decided to also construct a banquet room and knocked through the restaurant’s side wall to do so. Again financing the construction through their personal savings, they did not consider obtaining a loan…until the savings started to run out. This time, outside financing was going to be required.

Pepe Feijoo and his sister Maria Dieguez

Well past worries about not succeeding in their business, and with a clear mortgage, the family knew that the loan would be attractive to many banks. As members of the Franklin Avenue Merchant’s Association, they were already familiar with Hartford Community Loan Fund. "I knew HCLF had funding available, and it was time to ask for help, so I asked them. I wanted to deal with a lender that was going to be sensitive to our needs," Pepe explains. Costa del Sol’s construction loan was financed by BankBoston, now Bank of America, with HCLF as an equal lending partner. With funding in place, the restaurant was able to complete the banquet room they initially planned, as well as construct a tapas bar, cigar room and take-out shop. "Thanks to HCLF, we were able to finish the project. Before, we were a successful 2,000 square-foot restaurant. Now, with 6,000 square feet, we’re even more successful," Pepe boasts.

The renovations had an enormous impact on the restaurant’s business. "We hired many more people, most of them from the immediate area. Especially right from the end of the renovations, we had lots of reservations, booking two weeks in advance. We knew we had a great concept that was unique. Food from Spain is now one of the hottest food trends in the world, and we’re being favored by the trend," Pepe says happily. "Before the renovation, we were a small, hole in the wall type of place. Now, we’ve hit the major league. We can have all kinds of parties, high end parties. Now people know and recognize me from being in the newspapers and all!" he laughs.

Pepe Feijoo credits HCLF for being a great help to several businesses and many individuals in the community, calling the organization one of the greatest things that ever happened in Hartford. "HCLF is flexible about the needs of the neighborhood, and I hope they just keep getting stronger to reinvest in the community," he says. His advice to other business owners is, "Take advantage of the diversity of the South End! There’s more here for less, and it costs less to do business here. HCLF will be the driving force in the South End to help those people that are considering doing business here. But whatever you do here, be sure to do it right."

Loan funds provided by CT Department of Economic and Community Development.