12 YEARS in Moldova 🇺🇸 Opened 2 American restaurants, corruption, cost of business
Channel: Elena the Expat
Date: 2024-02-25

Moldova is home to so many expats - each one of them with their unique story. In this episode I chat with David Smith, an American small business owner who opened two famous restaurants in Chisinau - Smokehouse and Taproom . 

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Moldova SME Handbook ↠ https://sme.md/en/handbook/
Invest Moldova (gov agency)  ↠ https://invest.gov.md

00:00 Intro
00:33 Peace Corps in Moldova
02:12 Why stay in Moldova
04:24 How Moldova changed
06:11 Start a business in Moldova
08:04 Corruption & bureaucracy in Moldova
09:50 Open a restaurant in Moldova
12:08 Impact of COVID on restaurant
14:32 Cost of opening a restaurant
18:05 Restaurant: passion or business?
19:23 Entrepreneur resources in Moldova
21:32 Business trends in Moldova


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I’m Elena! Born, raised and currently living in Moldova. Prior to this, I spent 8 years living abroad in India, China, USA and Ukraine. 
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