If You Succeed
If You Succeed is the story of one couple’s struggle to save their business and their marriage. Christian is the dreamer: where others only see a burned-out block with no future, he sees an opportunity to expand their restaurant holdings. Dolores is the realist: she worries about expanding further and getting deeper into debt. The New York City restaurant world is full of big talkers; can Christian deliver on his promises or will they split up for good? If You Succeed follows this young couple for over two years, documenting the creation of a new business from the earliest stages of planning. Barely making ends meet at their first restaurant, Christian and Dolores risk everything to open a new bistro called Bodegas on a troubled Brooklyn block. Christian hopes this gamble will pay off and enable them to finally make a profit. Dolores is fed up and considers ditching Christian to pursue her own dream of being a dancer. Christian raises and runs out of money, survives construction nightmares, and finally opens Bodegas only to have the greed of others torpedo everything he’s built. He loses his life’s work but gains the love of his life. Christian and Dolores’ personal struggle embodies a story that’s being played out across the country as the number of small businesses sky-rockets despite the risks for entrepreneurs. Changing the face of America’s cities one storefront at a time, these small-scale urban visionaries are breathing new life into neighborhoods long left for dead.