Up & Comers: Nicolas Cortes and Antonio Ellek, Pasha's Restaurant and Catering

BY VANESSA GARCIA

FOR THE MIAMI HERALD

• Who: Nicolas Cortes, 37, and Antonio Ellek, 38

• Claim to fame: Partners in Pasha's Restaurant and Catering

• Where: Four locations: 900 Lincoln Rd., in Miami Beach; 14871 Biscayne Blvd., in North Miami; 3801 N. Miami Ave., in Miami's Design District; and 1414 Brickell Ave., in Miami.

• Bio: Nicolas Cortes and Antonio Ellek were born on different continents -- Cortes is from Colombia, and Ellek was born in Istanbul and raised in Switzerland -- yet somehow, like their restaurant, Pasha's, they managed to meld cultures and meet in America. At Harvard Business School to be exact, where they both got MBAs in 1996.

Ellek then traveled throughout the United States, Latin America, Asia Pacific and the Caribbean in a fast-track management program with PepsiCo (now Yum Brands, owner of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell) in preparation for his own entrepreneurial ventures.

Cortes moved to Miami and got a job with Hewlett-Packard as a business developer for Latin America. When Ellek moved permanently to Miami, the two old friends joined forces in 2000 to start Pasha's, which opened in 2003 on Lincoln Road.

The Pasha's brand -- think fast food without the fat -- has already made its stamp. It's mentioned in The South Beach Diet Cookbook for its array of healthy menu choices and was chosen as the Author's Choice budget restaurant in Miami in Lonely Planet's latest Florida guidebook and is also a frequent haunt of the rich and famous.

• Menu sampler: Pasha's Spread Sampler ($8.90) has a little bit of everything: walnut spread, hummus, labneh (natural yogurt cheese spread) and baba ghanoush. Served with Pasha's trademark, oven-hot pita. The Mixed Grill Shish Kebab ($11.95) offers filet mignon and chicken breast.

• Accessibility: 305-572-1150; http://www.pashas.com/

Q. What is Pasha's?

A. Ellek: I was very interested in going into an industry where I could do something positive. It wasn't only making money. And you want to be fascinated by what you do. I looked at biotech but didn't have the background. I looked into telecommunications. I looked into the environment, which would have been my second option. And then I looked into the food industry, the oldest industry that exists. And then I looked at the trends. There was no chain focusing on healthy food, and I saw an opportunity there.

Cortes: Do you know the [term] ''fast casual?'' When you divide the restaurant industry, the breakdown is fast food, casual dining and fine dining. Well, when we started the project, the term that Antonio had made up was: ''upscale fast food.'' Later, the term that came out in the industry was fast casual, which means between fast food and casual dining because it's got better-quality food, but still in a somewhat quick-service environment. That was our challenge.

Ellek: Now we want to take that to the next level. We want to call it ``fast elegant.''

Q. What about your name?

A. Ellek: Actually the name of the project in school was called Antioch. Antioch was one of the three largest Roman cities on the Mediterranean. It's a cross of cultures and things like that, but it doesn't have the punch that Pasha's has.

Cortes: The origin of the word ''pasha'' in the Ottoman Empire was a title of nobility. People who were pashas knew how to live the good life. They lived in good houses, they dressed well, and, very importantly, they ate well. Our customers are the pasha.

Ellek: And Pasha's is the place where the pashas go.

Q. So what can your pashas expect? Any more noble watering holes opening soon?

A. Cortes: We're starting to look at franchising, but we still have to finalize our plans. We are also looking outside Miami. [As for inside Miami], we're going to have four [more] stores open within the year for sure, I would say within the next eight months. The first one is in the University of Miami medical campus over at Jackson. They are building a wellness center.

Ellek: It's [the wellness center] going to be very big. I think they are calling it the Health District. For us, it is wonderful because we participated in a bid, and we were the only ones chosen. We will be working with nutritionists, and we'll be helping people to be better-informed in terms of healthy eating and having a healthy lifestyle. We opened the first four units in three years, and now we're doubling in just eight months. Which is very good. People are adopting our brand.

Vanessa Garcia is a freelance writer, visual artist and playwright. She can be reached at contact@vanessagarcia.org. Up & Comers is a regular feature focusing on young and emerging performers and entrepreneurs.