A year in the making of a rookie’s first restaurant.

Opening a Restaurant in New York Is No Picnic.

Here’s how her effort has played out, step by step, since she began a year ago.

We sought out the underdog, a first-timer risking it all to pursue the dream. Someone who had never recruited investors, landed a liquor license or scaled up a recipe for hundreds of diners. Could she succeed, or is the city’s dining scene simply too rough for a rookie?

The reality isn’t as pretty: Trying to create a restaurant from scratch is a huge gamble, and in New York City, it can feel almost impossible. Astronomical rents, stiff competition and city bureaucracy make the process an obstacle course. Yet a record 4,557 restaurant permit applications were filed with the city last year, many of them by deep-pocketed owners and big-name chefs.

It’s the fantasy at the back of so many people’s minds, and maybe yours: Quit that boring job, cash in those savings and open a restaurant where you can indulge your love of cooking and spend evenings with devoted regulars.

September 2024 Mouleena Khan, 35, feels stuck in her midlevel job at a health care technology company. Encouraged by her boyfriend, she quits and begins planning a restaurant.

She’s imagined this move for a long time, but felt daunted by the process and her lack of any experience working in one, or even cooking. What she does have is a personality — upbeat, organized and unshakable — well-suited for the unpredictability of restaurant work. She decides to put a big chunk of her savings into the project, and understands there’s a good chance she’ll fail. Mouleena A great organizer, but not much of a cook. Mouleena A great organizer, but not much of a cook. Mouleena A great organizer, but not much of a cook. Finding her other half Over brunch in December, Mouleena asks her friend Aleks Jeune, 45, a no-nonsense pragmatist who runs the Brooklyn coffee shop Chez Alex, if she’ll partner on the restaurant. Aleks, who immigrated to New York from Poland in 2002, wants to flex her cooking skills. She agrees on the spot. Aleks The name of her culinary hero, Anthony Bourdain, is tattooed on her right arm. Aleks The name of her culinary hero, Anthony Bourdain, is tattooed on her right arm. Aleks The name of her culinary hero, Anthony Bourdain, is tattooed on her right arm. What’s the big idea? Mouleena’s vision is the kind of restaurant she’s always wanted in her Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood: a casual, all-day cafe serving food inspired by her Bengali heritage, where diners can drop in without a reservation — “a place that people in the neighborhood go to that is warm and friendly when you don’t want to cook for yourself.” Naming the restaurant is the easy part. Cheeni means sugar in Bengali and Hindi, and she likes its melodic sound. name Cheeni Mouleena’s friend Ishaan Berry came up with the name. concept How they describe the restaurant to others. name Cheeni Mouleena’s friend Ishaan Berry came up with the name. concept How they describe the restaurant to others. name Cheeni Mouleena’s friend Ishaan Berry came up with the name. concept How they describe the restaurant to others. name Cheeni Mouleena’s friend Ishaan Berry came up with the name. concept How they describe the restaurant to others. The money conversation With an M.B.A.