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QUEEN ©F SHEBA: THE
;THI@FIAH AMERICAN J@B
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Alem G ebrehew ot is trying to
live the E thiopian version o f the
American Dream in northeast Port
land.
Five years ago he opened the
Queen o f Sheba as a small market
at 2 4 13 NE M artin Luther King
Boulevard. A year later he changed
the place into a restaurant. He has
since doubled the size o f the es
tablishm ent by expanding into the
storefront next door.
M eanwhile he is converting a
former church at 3 11 N. Ivy into
an Ethiopian Center, a place tor
ethnic celebrations and classes in
the cooking o f traditional foods.
He is doing all this as his first-
ever venture as ow ner or m anager
o f a business, w ith no public or
private assistance, introducing a
new kind o f dining into a once-
depressed part o f tow n w here en
terprises with m uch deeper p ock
ets still fear to come.
The Queen o f Sheba is building
up a clientele by the oldest method
k n o w n - w o rd o f m o u th .
G ebrehew ot says he draw s cus
tomers from throughout Oregon
and W ashington. There is a ready
made clientele close by. T here are
about l ,000 Ethiopians in O regon,
m ost o f them live in Portland, and
the highest concentration is in in
ner north and northeast. The Eliot
neighborhood, w here Q ueen o f
Sheba is located, boasts two other
E thiopian-run establishm ents, the
San Rafael Cafe at 415 NE. San
Rafael St., and the Rendezvous
Cafe at 8 16 N. Russell St.
F o r n e ig h b o r h o o d n a tiv e s ,
Queen o f S heba’s food and dining
style is a new experience. Two
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\Ne have been marrying couples for over 20
years and felt it was the time to open a small
place of our own.
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(a wedding for every budget)
203NEW eidier
Portland, Oregon97232
(503)281-5275
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he needed by w orking a second
job. Aside from getting the money,
he d id n ’t have much trouble start
ing up, although he says, “ Doing
anything for the first time is a prob
lem .” Most difficulties had to do
with the area. “The neighborhood
was depressed, not much was hap
pening, and not many people w ere
com ing here,” he says. That situ a
tion has gradually im proved. “The
biggest problem is parking,” he
says.
The restaurant is open from
NOON to 10 PM, Tuesday through
Saturday. For sale to go are im
ported beers and w ines, p u blica
tions, spices, music tapes and au
thentic dresses.
Gebrehewot would not call him
se lf a success, if your standard is
Bill G ates. “ It’s difficult to run a
business, but I ’m surviving,” he
says. “The global econom y is kind
o f scary. I ’m ju st hopeful things
d o n ’t get any w orse.”
Diane McClelland o f the
M cClelland C om pany
Expanding your business interna
tionally requires a team o f advisors
who will help you determine the readi
ness o f your business to go global
and the ramifications to your bottom
line! Often times, businesses may
error in one o f two ways: either by
underestimating the company’s abil
ity to explore exporting as avenue for
increasing Counter-cyclical sales; or
ignoring the complexities o f global
expansion. Neithercase is advisable!
Companies who have built strong
management teams, solid cash-flows
and equity, and have developed an
excellent product, may be missing an
important opportunity to increase
sales to a new niche of customers by
ignoring the chance to expand glo
bally. Conversely, some companies
make the mistake o f thinking that
selling products abroad is the same
as selling products in their own re
gion, state or country and approach
their international venture utilizing
the same techniques. This can be
very disastrous!
Here is an example. In the early
seventies, a major Fortune 500 com
pany began to launch one o f their
new products and chose to use the
same slogans in their advertising
promotions in Europe. The results
were disappointing to say the least
for the American company. The slo
gan used in the American press was
wellreceivedand understood! How
ever, when it was translated into the
European country’s language, it was
conveyed as insulting and discour
teous! This move created damage
to the international sales o f their
product! It was disastrous! The re
sults would have been different if
the company had researched the
language and cultural differences
and had adapted the necessary
changes to be more sensitive to the
citizens in that country they were
trying to reach! This is only one
example o f what can happen in busi
ness, if the proper steps are not
taken in understanding o f the differ
ences in the buying criteria for po
tential customers in the foreign coun
tries.
Some o f the primary points to
consider when exploring the pos
sible global expansion o f your com
pany is the following areas:
* Company resources - Person
nel, capital, materials, equipment,
management.
♦ Political environment - Gov
ernmental structure, stability, poli
cies toward foreign firms.
♦ Market entry conditions - Tar
iffs, quotas, other non-tariff barri
ers, legal environment.
* Marketing environment - Avail
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Are you looking for new custom
ers? Do you want to locate new
avenues to distribute your products
and services? If you answer yes to
these questions, you may want to
consider expanding your business
by developing a specific global
marketing plan for your company!
You may be saying to yourself,
That sounds good, but where do I
go from here? How do I get started?
Who can help me? Is my company
ready for global expansion? What is
the difference between marketing
domestically and internationally?”
These are all-important questions
to consider before embarking on
your export plan. However in ap
proaching the next steps in develop
ing an export marketing plan for
your company, you should first ex
amine the current structure and foun
dation o f your business. Can you
manage the current cash flow o f
your business? Do you have a strong
management team? Do you have a
quality control system in place for
your products? Have you chosen a
team o f advisors for your business
that can help you launch your com
pany internationally? Are you cur
rently working with a banker, ac
countant, lawyer or management
consultant that has knowledge o f
international business? What is the
best way to ship my products? How
do I get paid? These are only a few
o f the questions that need to be
answered.
The good news is this could be
the best avenue for your company
and there are many resources avail
able to you!
Let’s examine a few other impor
tant items.
Alem Grebrehewot, owner o f Q ueen o f S h eb a restaurant in NE.
w om en seeking chicken and rice
w ere told it isn ’t served there
(“ Rice isn ’t an authentic E thio
pian food,” G ebrehew ot says) and
w ere put o ff by way the food is
eaten. Featured are spicy beef,
chicken or lamb served w ith a
spongy bread. As is true through
out N orth A frica, the bread and
fingers o f the right hand are used
in place o f silverw are.
“ M ost people who come know
w hat to expect,” Gebrehewot says.
He cam e to this country 15 years
ago as a refugee from political
strife at home. He studied tood
services technology in New York
and continued his studies at O r
egon State before com ing to Port
land. He w orked various jobs in
the food industry before deciding
to set up on his own.
W hat financing or help did he
receive from public or private
sources? “None w hatsoever,” he
says: he came up with the funding
D iane M c C lelland
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Global Marketing: Preparedness
Is Critical For Success
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Salutes
(iMtnartttJ ^Business Week
As a
Community Affair
-Sz/z- 7 /U /^ 3%,^ offers a small and
intimate setting in our totally restored turn of
the century home.
You can even bring your own food, or have
a pot luck. Or let us professionally cater
your reception.
And, the minister is included with every
wedding.
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A R tís a n FaÍR e * C e le b R Ítí/ A ia m n í V is it *
O p e n H is to R í/ F o R arn * M a g ic ia n s *
JaggleRS * B a llo o n G a ^
K e n n e d y ’s FÍRSt A n n ío e R s a R í/ B a s h
If you need a minister to perform your
ceremony at another location.
We are available for a $150.00 fee.
Just give us a call at
281-5275
McMenamins Kennedy School
5736 NE 33rd • Portland, Oregon • (503) 249-3983
www.mcmenamins.com
Rev. James M. Mclnis
Rev. Kathleen Wyatt Mclnis
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