La Perle Noire Café

Walking around his Central Harlem neighborhood, Johnny Celestin realized that there were no places for friends to meet and enjoy delicious coffee.  In early 2008, Mr. Celestin left the corporate world to start La Perle Noire, a French-style bakery and café located in Central Harlem.  

Mr. Celestin looked to NYC Business Solutions to provide assistance with many critical steps for opening his doors, including finalizing his business plan, identifying the necessary permits and licenses for operation, obtaining a business loan and finding qualified staff to work at the Café. 

The NYC Business Solutions, Upper Manhattan Center introduced Mr. Celestin to NYC Business Express, a tool that showed him exactly what permits he would need to ensure that La Perle Noire was in compliance.  The Center also assisted Mr. Celestin with completing his business plan, packaging his business loan and recruiting a server for the Café.

La Perle Noire obtained all required permits and was awarded a $69,000 loan which enabled Mr. Celestin to renovate the Café space as well as purchase his start up baking equipment.  Mr. Celestin also hired a qualified server, which has helped the Café run smoothly.