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Business
College Dropouts Take Over As New Owners Of Edgewater's 'Pizza Club' College Dropouts Take Over As New Owners Of Edgewater's 'Pizza Club'
College Dropouts Take Over As New Owners Of Edgewater's 'Pizza Club' Michael Ghinelli of Wyckoff was in his junior year and distracted from classwork by designs for his own t-shirt company when a teacher told him he'd never go anywhere. That stuck with him, he said. But now, the 21-year-old has taken over Pizza Club in Edgewater with business partner Hadi Parhizkaran. And he says he's proving his teacher wrong one slice at a time. Ghinelli and Parhizkaran, also of Wyckoff, have always been motivated to work, talking about potential future business ventures when they first met as teenagers in the kitchen at Blue Moon Mexican Cafe. “We were just kids at …

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by Valerie Musson
Lifestyle
Dumont Teen Wants To Open Candy Store Dumont Teen Wants To Open Candy Store
Dumont Teen Wants To Open Candy Store A 15-year-old self-described "lollipop maven" from Dumont has launched a kickstarter campaign that she hopes will help her open a candy store. Lilly Trentacosta first started Lillypops, her own lollipop and cotton candy company in 2017, with help from her father. After several successful years in business, she is taking the next step and launched the campaign to help make her dreams of opening a brick-and-mortar store in Bergen County come to life. More than $300 had been raised as of Tuesday. Lilly creates her gourmet treats in several different flavors — blue raspberry, cherry, cinnamon…

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by Valerie Musson
Lifestyle
Bergen County Latina Inventor Has Important Message For Female Entrepreneurs Bergen County Latina Inventor Has Important Message For Female Entrepreneurs
Bergen County Latina Inventor Has Important Message For Female Entrepreneurs Hipatia Lopez of Elmwood Park has an important message for other young, Latina entrepreneurs: Si se puede. The mom of three invented the Empanada Fork -- a tool used to seal the stuffed pastry -- but admits she had no idea what she was doing when she began her entrepreneurial journey. She vowed to herself that once she made it through, she'd share her story to motivate other entrepreneurs. Particularly Latinas, like herself, she said. "Si se puede!" That's Lopez's message to other aspiring entrepreneurs.Hipatia Lopez "Female inventors hold seven percent of U.S. patents and less than on…

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by Cecilia Levine
Business
New Milford Cafe Owner: 'Fill Your Own Cup First' New Milford Cafe Owner: 'Fill Your Own Cup First'
New Milford Cafe Owner: 'Fill Your Own Cup First' You’ve got to fill your own cup before you can fill someone else’s. That’s long been the guiding principle for Chirag Trivedi of New Milford, who gave the motto a literal meaning when he opened TimeOut cafe on River Edge Avenue last year. TimeOut is a place to do just that, said Trivedi, who leads by example. Trivedi moved to the U.S. after high school from Bombay, India, to study computer science at North Carolina State University. He worked at Baskin Robbins to fund his education but quickly ballooned up from 180 to 235 pounds with all the ice cream he was eating. He knew if he wanted…

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by Cecilia Levine
Events
Jason Alexander, John Kerry Part Of Lineup For NJPAC Speakers Series Jason Alexander, John Kerry Part Of Lineup For NJPAC Speakers Series
Jason Alexander, John Kerry Part Of Lineup For Njpac Speakers Series NJPAC's speakers series kicks off in October with a talk by John Kerry, former U.S. Senator, former Secretary of State and the 2004 Democratic nominee for president.  Other speakers include Zanny Minton Beddoes, the editor of The Economist magazine who was named one of the world's most powerful women by Forbes.  Livingston native and Seinfeld star Jason Alexander is also part of the speaker series and is scheduled to appear April 30, 2020.  Rounding out the roster for 2019-2020 are former national security adviser Susan Rice; entrepreneur Peter Diamandis, founder of the XPri…

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by Paul Milo
Business
Jersey Shore Mexican Restaurant Opens In Bergen County Jersey Shore Mexican Restaurant Opens In Bergen County
Jersey Shore Mexican Restaurant Opens In Bergen County A Jersey Shore-based eatery that touts Mexican food fused with American flavor has opened its 23rd store in Bergen County. Bubbakoo’s Burritos, located on Ramapo Valley Road in Oakland, offers the usual fast-casual burrito fare such as burritos, bowls, tacos, salad, nachos and quesadillas -- but with 16 different protein options. Those include fried chicken, barbecue pork, Buffalo shrimp and grilled steak, as well as some more unusual flavors such as ghost pepper chicken and sriracha pork.  Vegetarian options include a bean-cheese-guacamole combo and batter-fried jalapeños. And, originals …

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by Cecilia Levine
Business
30 Under 30: Fort Lee Jeweler Named To Prestigious Forbes List 30 Under 30: Fort Lee Jeweler Named To Prestigious Forbes List
30 Under 30: Fort Lee Jeweler Named To Prestigious Forbes List There are music moguls, social entrepreneurs, fashion bloggers and venture capitalists. The common thread between eight of the 600 trailblazers named to Forbes' latest "30 Under 30" list is New Jersey. Below are the "bold risk-takers  putting a new twist on the old tools of the trade," Forbes says. And, certainly, the future looks bright. Rutherford native Mark Shami, 27 of Fort Lee, Founder, The M Jewelers:  "The M Jewelers sells gold and silver nameplate jewelry from a website where customers can design and visually render their own pieces. The Manhattan-based c…

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by Cecilia Levine
Business
Longtime Worker Finally Queen Bee With Opening Of North Jersey Salon Longtime Worker Finally Queen Bee With Opening Of North Jersey Salon
Longtime Worker Finally Queen Bee With Opening Of North Jersey Salon For nearly four decades, Laura Ann Petruccelli has been a worker. But now, things are finally changing. The Hawthorne mom is the queen bee of her very own hair salon, Lora Celli in Ridgewood. "I saw myself in this industry, changing with this industry," said Petruccelli, 57. "I saw myself doing this for many more years to come and I knew I didn't want to do this under somebody else’s vision.  "I have too many ideas." The salon's grand opening will be Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. The mom of three wasted no time putting those ideas to work. She launched her own product line. She drew up and carried …

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by Cecilia Levine
Business
Unschooled Lyndhurst Contractor Busts Blue-Collar Stereotype: Have No Shame Unschooled Lyndhurst Contractor Busts Blue-Collar Stereotype: Have No Shame
Unschooled Lyndhurst Contractor Busts Blue-Collar Stereotype: Have No Shame Zachary Dettmore of Lyndhurst has always carried a certain amount of shame around being a blue-collar worker. Although his mom has a doctorate and his dad has a master's degree, the 29-year-old never even attended elementary school. He was unschooled. At home, Dettmore followed a curriculum related to childhood learning that he says allowed him to pursue an avenue of education that he was passionate about. Construction. Two decades after firmly deciding he was going to be a contractor, Dettmore has a thriving business with two employees, two vehicles on the road, a house and money in the …

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by Cecilia Levine
Business
Bergen County Native's Lifeguard Business Is Going Swimmingly Bergen County Native's Lifeguard Business Is Going Swimmingly
Bergen County Native's Lifeguard Business Is Going Swimmingly Garfield native Mark Quiles is making swimming pools safer for summer with a company that he likens to Uber... but for lifeguards. Two years ago, the NJIT senior launched League of Lifeguards, which recruits and certifies lifeguards before matching them with jobs at pools, parties and other swimming events. The 22-year-old has been able to protect more than 10,000 lives so far. "I’ve been a lifeguard since I was 15 and realized there was an opportunity capitalize on my skill set," Quiles said.  "Since most lifeguards make an average of minimum wage to $12 per hour, I want t…

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by Cecilia Levine
Business
Bergen County Mom Rolls Out 'Who Cut The Cheese Lady' Food Truck Bergen County Mom Rolls Out 'Who Cut The Cheese Lady' Food Truck
Bergen County Mom Rolls Out 'Who Cut The Cheese Lady' Food Truck A Paramus mom has left the corporate food industry to bring North Jersey the area's first-ever grilled cheese food truck. Brenda Picone earlier this month rolled out the "Who Cut The Cheese Lady" truck (brilliant, right?). She says it was all an accident. "I always had a passion for cooking," said the Boston native, "but never in a million years thought about a food truck." Picone had plans for retirement -- but those fell through. She needed a back-up. After doing some research, Picone discovered that grilled cheese food trucks existed -- but nowhere near P…

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by Cecilia Levine
Business
Edgewater Bio Major Invents Serum To Make Your Skin Glow Edgewater Bio Major Invents Serum To Make Your Skin Glow
Edgewater Bio Major Invents Serum To Make Your Skin Glow EDGEWATER, N.J. – When Taroob Ahmad of Edgewater was 25, people would comment on her beautiful skin. “My husband is 11 years older than me. It is a big difference,” she said. “We would go out with his friends and family, and everyone would be like, ‘Oh wow, your wife is so young, her skin is so nice. I would really enjoy the compliments,” she said, laughing. But Ahmad realized that glowing skin may not last forever, unless she did something to maintain it. So she started looking for something healthy to put on her face. She was a biology major in college and understood how the quality of i…

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by Lauren Kidd Ferguson