For Yvette Leeper-Bueno, Harlem is much more than a neighborhood in New York City. It’s where her family has been rooted for generations. She has cherished childhood memories of dinners at her grandmother’s Harlem home. Her parents met on 122nd St. She and her husband raised their sons in one of the area’s signature brownstones.
"There is no place like Harlem," Yvette says. So when she channeled her entrepreneurial energy into starting her own restaurant, there was no doubt about where it would be located. Vinateria opened its doors in 2013 on historic Frederick Douglass Blvd. Yvette attracted a local following for her global wine collection and mix of Spanish and Italian cuisine inspired by her world travels.
This restaurant is great because of the people. The people on my team have an amazing spirit that they bring to their work every day.
But, like so many restaurants, Vinateria had to change the way it operated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yvette closed the restaurant’s doors to indoor dining and shifted the focus to takeout and delivery, but the adjustment proved difficult. "We had five iPads and one hostess managing all of our orders separately," Yvette said. "It was an extreme challenge to continue to provide our wonderful food to people."
PepsiCo helped Vinateria adapt to a new way of doing business through Pepsi Dig In, a platform that has driven growth for hundreds of restaurants around the country by providing grants, technical assistance, marketing essentials, coaching and training. Yvette benefitted from the platform’s delivery initiative, which equipped Vinateria with a new online ordering system that automated the process of receiving orders, sending them to the kitchen and connecting with delivery drivers.
"It was such an incredible help and change to our infrastructure," Yvette said of the upgrade. Being able to take more orders allowed Yvette to grow her business in a new way. The new system also reduced costs, which let Yvette dedicate more of the restaurant’s resources to her staff.
I employ a lot of people from the Harlem area, and that’s something I’m really proud of.
Supporting small businesses is one way PepsiCo is working toward its pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) ambition of uplifting the communities where the company operates. To date, platforms like Pepsi Dig In and the PepsiCo Foundation’s small business and restaurant accelerators have invested more than $35 million in small businesses across the United States. That support is crucial, Yvette says, because small businesses like Vinateria can provide jobs and economic stability for people living in the community.
"I employ a lot of people from the Harlem area, and that's something I'm really proud of," Yvette says. "This restaurant is great because of the people. The people on my team have an amazing spirit that they bring to their work every day."
Watch the video above to hear Yvette's story.