As I walked into Emily's restaurant, which is located at 1325 5th Ave and 111th Street, I immediately noticed that it met the standards of a four star restaurant: the tables were neatly arranged and the bar was stocked with various types of wines and other beverages ready to be served. As I interviewed the owner, Leon Ellis, I began to see in him an inspiring role model for young men and women of color seeking to be entrepreneurs.

Ellis started Emily's (the name was inspired by his mother.) over eight years ago with his own savings and slight financial help from some major corporations. He initially hired a consultant to get the business of the ground, but later turned to following his own ideas. Though Ellis is a firm believer in following one's own heart, he also stresses the importance of outside help. "In most cases, if you are going to start a restaurant you have to get a lot of professional help. Owning a restaurant in New York is a challenging process," says Ellis. And he should know since Mr. Ellis has spent most of his life around enteurerpship. His godfather owned his own business when Ellis was younger. "I always wanted to own a business of my own" he says. He has looked to his godfather as a mentor since he was a kid. However even with all the guidance, Ellis stresses that many obtsacles had to be overcome before Emily's would find success.

In order to own a restaurant the owner must obtain food permits, restaurant permits, building permits, and a liquor license, and there are many more steps one must go through before operation. After receiving the permits, a health informant has to come in and give his approval to the restaurant before it can legally serve meals. That is not the only thing Mr. Ellis had to overcome. " You just work in the restaurant and you just serve food, but it is a very detailed operation. So you have to overcome the obstacle of getting that information which is not available without working in a restaurant. Even if you went to the restaurant school, you still do not have enough tools to open a restaurant". At present Emily's is Mr. Ellis' only restaurant but he is in the process of opening more, including one called Moca, which is going to be on 5th Ave and 119th St.

Mr. Ellis has had excellent goals since he was a child, desiring to receive a doctors degree and be a professor. But he did not achieve that goal. Mr. Ellis says," However, when you aim for something so high and if you do not reach that goal, you will reach something equally as high or maybe not that pinnacle but a pinnacle somewhere else." He got a bachelor degree and revised his goals which he believes are still lofty but in different direction. Mr. Ellis's parents inspired his life long goals. His mother served as a great emotional presence in his life while his father set a tremendous example for him.

Emily's restaurant has a very special menu, which serves Southern cuisine with a Western influence. The restaurant has tremendous Caribbean cuisine as Mr. Ellis has a Caribbean influence in his life. It has a variety of food selections including seafood; fried chicken, beef, and special meals for vegetarians. Emily's core customers are in the ages of 21 to 60 with a wide range of economic backgrounds. Many celebrities have been to Emily's, among them Angela Bassett who is Mr. Ellis favorite celebrity and also his friend. Harrison Ford has visited Emily's a couple of times as well. Even though he got the opportunity to open the restaurant in Harlem, he says he will still have done in Harlem. "Harlem is a world famous community and for a very long time it has not really realized its true potential. I think it is on the cusp of doing that right now," Mr. Ellis says. He added that Emily's affects Harlem phenomenally as Harlem has been considered a place no one wants to be. Because of nice restaurants such as Emily's, buildings, and theaters, Harlem became a place where people want to go and have a visit. " We add quality of life. We add that people who live in their environment have a better feel about where they live. Those are a couple of things that makes community self-sustaining. So I think we contributed a tremendous amount of growth to the Harlem community," added Mr. Ellis.

Mr. Ellis's earliest job was on his family farm and he did not get paid for that. He had to work on the farm after school. He worked during summer to pay for his High School and worked his way up to college. Within the next 5 years Mr. Ellis wants to own at least 4 restaurant bars. He now relaxes by playing and roller balding in the park, and by going to gym. He also likes playing soccer. Martial Arts is one of his hobbies.

Mr. Ellis gave great advice to youths who want to start their business. "People need to be enthusiastic about their goals. The most important is to "want" something. Before someone can actually want to start his or her own business, you have to "want". You have to want to be," Mr. Ellis says. This is valuable advice to youth who wants to succeed business. He also added, " Straight A students are not always the people who succeed in life. The people who succeed may be the people who get C's, but that desire it more."

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