Success Story
Sassafras Chef
at Harbor cafÉ
Chef John and
Susan Arcuicci
1 George Street, Georgetown, MD 21930
410-275-2300Featured in the
Cecil Business Ledger, November, 2006
From caterer to café and B&B, Susan Arucuicci used the
SBIC to research and explore different business concepts.
 John
Arcuicci and his wife Susan have evolved their business plans overtime. The
focus of their business plans always centered around John’s expert cooking
capabilities. Both Susan and John departed previous corporate positions to
develop their own catering business. John was an executive chef and Susan
was a hospitality manager and consultant.
In May 2004, Susan began to use the SBIC to research several business
concepts and locations including a restaurant, a bed and breakfast, and a
café. They had been building a client base in their part time personal chef
/ catering business called The Sassafras Chef, LLC for several years while
searching for a home base. Finally, in the spring of 2006, they located a
suitable site in a marina in Georgetown. Now The Sassafras Chef (doing
business as) The Harbor Cafe is located at the northern end of the Sassafras
River bridge in Georgetown just off of Route 213.
“John makes the best food in the region”, says Marina owner Joe Smith.
Once they decided on this location, Lera introduced them to Harry Hammond of
SCORE who met with them many times during the business transaction. They
bought the café from previous owners and have now developed their own brand
of cuisine for the Sassafras Chef at Harbor Café. The owner of the marina,
Joe Smith, swears that, “John makes the best food in the region”. Evidently
his opinion is shared by others as the Sassafras Chef was recently voted
No.2 in the category Best Caterer in the Cecil Whig (10/20/2006). Also, they
were the front page feature of Cecil Whig”s “Cecil Business Ledger” for
November, 2006, which included a descriptive article about their food and
their business.
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