These days people are not just looking for a place to have a meal or a drink. That’s why restaurateurs Andre Luiz Nascimento and Jorge Eça de Queiroz Correia de Campos decided to open a Restaurant & Cocktail Bar «‎ZÔZÔ», which is not just about serving good food, but it also awakens all the senses of those who enter through the door. 

In this issue, Andre and Jorge told our magazine about how to succeed in the restaurant business.

Hi, Andre & Jorge! You have the incredible restaurant & cocktail bar ZÔZÔ. Tell us more about it. What was the idea or inspiration that started it all?

The idea behind ZÔZÔ was to create a cosmopolitan, sophisticated yet cool restaurant with a sense of uniqueness. 

Starting out as an entrepreneur, what were some of the biggest challenges you faced? 

We acquired the restaurant during the lockdown, without knowing what the future had prepared for us all. Nevertheless, we were fully prepared, by having a truly realistic business plan, considering the worst-case scenario possible. Of course, all the promises of help, made by the Portuguese Government, never came. 

What personal time management tools do you use to keep up with the busy life of a restaurateur?

Being restaurateurs, we know that we have to be fully committed to our restaurant, especially during this first year of existence. 

Share with us your pandemic strategies to stay in business.

The strategies, pandemic or not, are simply to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, on all fronts possible. 

What advice would you give other entrepreneurs starting out in the restaurant business?

You should have resilience and unconditional love for your project. Prepare yourself for the worst. If one does that, the price is as if one wins the lottery!