Virgilio Rodriguez

Experienced as a cook in his native Dominican Republic, Virgilio Rodriguez arrived in the U.S. with the idea of opening his own restaurant. "It was my idea of being free," says Virgilio. 

However, years of cooking took their toll on Virgilio's health, and he became unable to continue running the restaurant.  After hearing about ACCION at a seminar, he applied for a loan that could help him hire an employee for the restaurant, so that he could start planning his second business venture.

Today, Virgilio is the owner of both Ramonita's Restaurant, and a fruit and vegetable wholesale service. Both businesses provide income for his family, and employment in his Brooklyn community.  He's ensured that the positive effects of his loan trickle down to his community-as president of the business association at the market Ramonita's is located in, he organized an ACCION seminar so that others could learn about resources for their businesses.