Teen entrepreneur opens first restaurant in New Jersey

EAST ORANGE, NJ (PIX11) — Seventeen-year-old Ryan Kundan of East Orange is preparing for the grand opening of his first restaurant, “Everything Nice with Spice” on North Harrison Street in East Orange, NJ.

Kundan, a student at the Newark School of Fashion and Design, is opening the Caribbean restaurant on Saturday with his mother, Shavana Kundan, who will be the head chef. The menu is infused with all the flavors of Shavana’s native Guayana.

“I’ve been cooking since I was 18,” Shavana Kundan said.

“I see a lot of the same restaurants everywhere,” Ryan Kundan said. “I have the impression that there is always a Jamaican restaurant or a Chinese restaurant in the neighborhood, but you don't see a Guayanese restaurant.

The opening of “Everything Nice with Spice” was made possible by a business class Ryan took at Essex County Community College, recommended by his high school principal.

Dr. Jamila Davis, community advocate and entrepreneur, teaches the program called “Boss Up.”

“It’s a 10-week teen entrepreneurship program,” Davis explained. “And it teaches teenagers the fundamentals of business.”

Davis helped Ryan and Shavana navigate the process of opening a restaurant.

“It’s not easy starting a business,” Davis said. “They have to get COs, they have to get permits. There was a lot to do. So I was instrumental in helping them get through some of those things.

Davis said Ryan is one of his most remarkable students and believes his success will be an inspiration to others his age.

“It really goes from a dream to a reality, and when they see that Ryan's dreams have come true, they will believe that their dreams can come true too.”