The restaurant industry will never die, not even in a global pandemic. I know this because I, along with my two sisters, Fusun and Arzu, have been in it for 13 years. The three of us have navigated tough economic times and challenges working on the front lines, the back of the house, and the trenches as owner-operators. We have experienced a fair share of adversity while operating multiple stores as first-generation immigrants.

We have also encountered significant setbacks and dealt with substantial disadvantages many owner-operators will face over their restaurant careers. Each step has taught me a lesson about overcoming perilous obstacles to survive even in the worst of times. Here is my family's story of how we made it through to the other side and how we will continue to thrive, even in the worst of circumstances.

In 2007, at the height of an imminent economic recession, my sisters and I decided to open a fast-casual restaurant concept called Flatbread Grill. The three of us teamed up after our father was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Our father needed affordable health insurance to have the surgery and afford the lifetime care that came with it. He was forced into early retirement as a result of his health problems.

I was a 24-year-old college student, struggling to earn my filmmaking arts degree when my restaurant journey began. At the same time, Arzu, my younger sister, who 23, had just graduated at the top of her college class with a double degree in business management and finance. Fusun, our older sister, had taken on the responsibilities of financially supporting both our parents. That is, until her corporate job laid her off. She decided to use her passion for food to open up a restaurant. Fusun asked Arzu for help, who then asked me if I wanted to join them. There was no fancy business plan, no meticulous strategy sessions, and no hiring of outside consultants. It was just the three of us with one goal: make enough money to save our father's life and support ourselves.

The restaurant world was nothing new to us. We grew up inside our father's two Turkish restaurants. Fusun helped run those restaurants when she was just 13. I spent my childhood playing with Barbie dolls while watching my mother perform prep work, wash dishes, and cook alongside my father and big sister. Both Arzu and I also worked multiple service jobs, including bartending and waitressing, at various foodservice establishments, to put ourselves through college.

Despite watching our father lose his restaurants growing up, we somehow believed this was a path we could navigate successfully. Our father mortgaged his home to finance Flatbread Grill, and my sisters used whatever savings they had. If we didn't make this restaurant work, it meant homelessness for our family. Failure was not an option.

Armed with very little cash on hand, the three of us put aside our differences and began building our first store in North Jersey. Arzu had a clear vision that the food would be fresh and made to order. It would be served in a welcoming, warm, and casual environment. Her idea was a little ahead of the time because the concept of “fresh food” was still very much reserved for full-service restaurants. She also threw in how we would make specialty flatbreads and develop a menu that offered something for everyone. My job was to help build the menu, design customer touchpoints, develop signage, create a website, and maintain the brand identity. I did not have a background in marketing. I just loved food and wanted my father to live. Arzu designed the logo, came up with taglines, and developed the bread recipes while Fusun managed the finances.

While the construction project itself on a rundown building like the one we had rented would have been enough to make anyone throw their hands up and walk away, my sisters and I didn't give up. We paid attention to every detail of every corner, keeping in mind that we were building a concept for people from all walks of life. With the recession, vendors predicted our restaurant wouldn't even make it to the grand opening.

We eventually got our first store open on March 13, 2008. We had no money left for any marketing or advertising, so word of mouth was all we had to keep the business alive. Social media wasn't quite a thing yet. Our most significant marketing effort was taking our logoed “COMING SOON” sign and placing a sticker with the grand opening date on the bottom. It worked because we had lines out the door from day one.

The odds were very much stacked against us even though we were busy from the outset, and the buzz was building quickly about our brand. We didn't have staff other than two cashiers who helped work the front of the house. Fusun and Arzu were responsible for serving over 100 tickets in an hour, every day. Within two weeks, an editor from a prestigious newspaper ate at Flatbread Grill and gave us an outstanding review. From there, it became busier, which meant more work, day in and day out, and more local media inquiries. I would rush to open the restaurant, go to my college classes after the lunch rush, come back to prepare for the dinner rush, and then spend hours after closing cleaning up and washing dishes with my sisters. Life went on like this for more time than I'd like to remember. The payoff was bringing nearly $1 million in less than a year based on word of mouth only, as well as finally being able to afford health insurance for ourselves and our parents.

At the height of the recession, we ran a high-volume operation at one point entirely on our own, without staff, serving hundreds of customers a day. It was back-breaking work. Everything from doing prep, inventory shopping, washing dishes by hand, and serving customers to balancing the books was entirely on our shoulders. We worked 14- to 18-hour days, seven days a week, nonstop to keep our business moving forward.