Kosta, Stella, and Jimmie Bouyoukas. |
Patience key to success for local company
When starting a small business, sometimes it's hard to be patient. Once you decide to take the big step into entrepreneurship and then get everything in order - financing, product development, commercial space, signage, employee hires and advertising and marketing needs - you want to see results, the fruit of your labor. However, growing a business takes time, and sometimes you just have to work hard, be patient and continue to believe in your dream.
This is just what one Baltimore City businessman did when he started his own business in 1979. Gus Bouyoukas started small and eventually grew his family-owned business, Prima Foods Inc., (www.primafoodsinc.com) into a full-line wholesale food distributor that now houses three businesses under the same roof. "I emigrated from Greece in 1970 and settled in Baltimore," says Bouyoukas. "It was very difficult in the beginning. We opened the company with very little money, and times were really tough at first. I was lucky in the beginning because I had help from my family - my son and son-in-law really pitched in to help. We were patient and grew the business a little bit each day. Now, we've been around for 28 years and have built a pretty successful business."
"Gus is an amazing local success story," says Curt Lang, assistant vice president of commercial banking at Provident Bank. "When he first came to the United States, he was practically penniless. He started his business from the ground up, never gave up on his dream and now has a very successful business."
Bouyoukas says that Prima Foods' primary business is as a full-service wholesale food distributor, primarily to restaurants, carry-outs, delis, caterers and grocery stores. Prima Foods focuses on Greek, Italian, Middle Eastern and East European foods, and since they are also a direct importer, they can offer these international foods at affordable prices to their clients. True to Bouyoukas' Grecian roots, Prima Foods' heart and soul are the many Greek products they offer, including Greek cheeses, feta cheese, Kalamata olives and olive oil. Prima Foods also offers many other specialty foods from Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Turkey, and its catalog now includes more than 2,000 products. "We're a comprehensive distributor for all kinds of grocery items as well as janitorial supplies for restaurants," says Bouyoukas, who adds that Prima Foods now employs 33 people.
In addition to functioning as a distributor and direct importer, Prima Foods also has an international food store that is open to the public. The retail store sells a bevy of food products for either a quick-and-easy dinner or for entertaining family and friends, including marinated olives, extra virgin olive oil, feta cheese, appetizers, frozen entrées, desserts, pasta, coffee, juices and stuffed grape leaves. The retail shop also stocks supplies and international gifts, perfect for a hostess gift when attending a dinner party.
Bouyoukas says that when he first started the business, he leased a building in Brooklyn Park, Md. "We were there for 18 years, and then 10 years ago, we purchased a building in East Baltimore. We've had our banking business with Provident Bank for more than 15 years, and they were a big help when we needed a loan to buy our own space," says Bouyoukas. Lang of Provident Bank adds that Provident also provides cash management and personal banking services to Prima Foods.
"Prima Foods has been a great customer over the years, and it's been a pleasure watching them grow into a very successful business," he says.
