Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1489717
4 4 C T I N N O V A T O R S , 2 0 2 2 another $4 million. Immigrant story Luari's current drive is strongly rooted in her family tradition, upbringing and past struggles. Luari's family fled the small Balkan nation of Albania in April 1998, following a collapse of the government that saw civilians raid state armories for heavy weapons and cities devolve into law- lessness. Her parents sold their restaurant in Albania without telling anyone and fled to join Luari's maternal grandfather in East Hart- ford. It was about 4,500 miles away from everything Luari knew. She was 6. e day aer the Luari family arrived in East Hartford, her father, Ylli Luari, began washing dishes at the Town Line Diner in Rocky Hill. Over the coming decade, he worked his way up to cook, and then bought the place. Gina and her siblings grew up around the diner. As a young teen, Gina helped her parents keep financial records and fill out forms. She redesigned the menu and launched a website. At 17, she drew up rough designs for an $80,000 renovation. At 19, Gina Luari joined the Rocky Hill Chamber of Commerce, looking for ways to improve business. At 23, she was hired to run the organization. ree years later, Luari saw a closed diner on Franklin Avenue in Hartford and began dreaming of a spot catering to Millennials moving to the city. Aer meeting struggles and taking on hey responsibilities early in life, that challenge, and all that followed didn't seem so daunting. "I feel like the scariest thing in my life has already happened," Luari says. "I mean, immigrating to a new country, where you don't speak the language, you don't have friends, you've le your old life behind. at's the scariest thing that could happen. We were able to make our way through that, so I think we can make our way through anything." "I always tell my team there are two things you can't get back in life, time and opportunity. And you can't waste either one of those." – Gina Luari I Continued from page 43 Gina Luari stands inside her restaurant's newest location in New Haven, on Elm Street, during the construction process.