Nepali Restaurant in New York City Keeps Growing Despite Pandemic with Support from Local CDFI
Client: Mingma Sherpa, owner of Momo Crave
Client Location: Queens, NY
CDFI: Accompany Capital
CDFI Service Area: New Jersey and New York
Financing and technical assistance, with support from the Grow with Google Small Business Fund and Google.org Grant Program
Momo Crave is a Nepali fast food restaurant in Queens started by business partners Mingma Sherpa and Jyoti Basnet in 2018. The restaurant specializes in Momos, a popular type of dumplings in the Himalayas, as well as Nepali masala tea and coffee. Mingma, an MBA graduate with extensive management experience, and Jyoti, who formerly owned a restaurant in Nepal, approached Accompany Capital after a referral by their accountant to apply for a loan to address construction delays during the startup phase of their business.
Accompany Capital helped them get approved for an initial loan of $15,000, followed by a second loan from Accompany Capital for $20,000 for additional equipment. Mingma recently received a third loan of $50,000 to secure 100 percent ownership of the business. The business also received a $10,000 COVID-19 emergency loan for rent, utility bills, and payroll, as well as a $20,000 grant through NYEDC’s Queens Small Business Grant Program, which Accompany Capital was selected to process. Additionally, Momo Crave won $5,000 from a business plan competition organized by Accompany Capital in partnership with Bridgehampton National Bank, along with a $1,500 grant funded by HSBC Foundation to build their outdoor space.
Also receiving one-on-one marketing and QuickBooks consultation from Accompany Capital, Mingma shared: “I am so grateful for the support and loans Accompany Capital has given me and my business, both in the beginning and as we’ve been growing. Especially during COVID we received so much help through their emergency loans which helped with operating expenses, and the emergency grant they gave us to help us build outdoor seating. They also kept us informed about other resources and programs for small businesses and helped us with tips for marketing and some accounting resources that allowed us to keep growing despite the crisis.”