![](media/image1.png){width="1.979861111111111in"
height="1.0083333333333333in"} ***News Release***

New York District Office

Release Date: September 5, 2006 Contact: John Miller (212) 264-7770

Release Number: 06-34 e-mail: john.miller@sba.gov

***Entrepreneur Offers Taste of Senegal in Harlem***

**New York, NY\-\--** Hard-driving entrepreneur Gorqui N'doye emigrated
alone to the United States from Senegal in 1989 when he was 19 to
continue his studies in electrical engineering. He has since become an
American citizen, husband and father, homeowner and employer. And as
further evidence of embracing the American dream, you should know he's
simply called "Abe" by his friends.

N'doye is the proud owner of Patisserie Des Ambassades, an
Internet-access café in Harlem which caters to a steady flow of
customers from 7:00 a.m. until 3:00 a.m. the following morning. The
bistro serves French-influenced West African meals and desserts all
prepared on the premises. Among the employees working at the boulangerie
are full-time pastry chefs churning out delights such as beignet a la
crème and mille feuilles.

The patisserie is located on Frederick Douglas Boulevard and is
perfectly situated to take advantage of the new residents who will be
occupying the hundreds of new condominiums being built just across the
street and in the neighborhood. But it has already outgrown its current
space so N'doye plans to rent an additional 1000 square feet of
adjoining space adjoining to expand his kitchen, freezer and storage
are. The expansion will be needed because N'doye plans to wholesale his
baked goods and pastries throughout the city as well as cater.

So you might wonder how a teenager from Senegal becomes so successful in
the U.S. N'doye attributes it mostly to hard work. He had continued his
electrical engineering studies at New York's City College, but his
journey really began when he started working in a Ricky's NYC store in
Manhattan. There he fell in love with retail and eventually became a
partner in the business. He also decided that one day he would have his
own business.

N'doye was also smart enough to find out about the numerous forms of
entrepreneurial assistance programs available in the U.S. When he was
planning his business he took advantage of the free counseling services
provided by the Pace University Small Business Development Center which
is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration. In 2002 he received
an SBA-guarantied loan from the Manhattan-based Grow America Fund to
open the business. "I wish I would have known about the SBA sooner,"
N'doye said. "I would have called five years earlier."

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A number of his family members have since joined N'doye in the U.S. and
are becoming successful in their own right. "I hear a lot people
complain about *the system*, in America," said N'doye. "But my
experience has been, be disciplined, work hard and you'll get where you
want to be." And where did the name "Abe" come from? "Well, all my
friends were Jewish at the time and that's what they started calling
me," said N'doye. "I'm happy with it."

*Patisserie Des Ambassades can be visited at
[www.patisseriedesambassades.com](http://www.patisseriedesambassades.com/).*

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*All of the SBA's programs and services are provided to the public on a
non-discriminatory basis. For more information about the SBA please
visit [www.sba.gov/ny/ny](http://www.sba.gov/ny/ny).*