Bringing the frijoles to Beantown

Surveying his cavernous Jamaica Plain warehouse, stocked high with colorfully-packaged items from teas to spices to canned vegetables to frijoles, frijoles, and more frijoles, Mariano Suriel nods his head with measured approval.

''All of this" he says, sweeping his hand through the air while, in the process, nearly tripping over his newly adopted kitten, ''it all started with $500. Can you believe that? Even I don't always believe it."

This month Suriel, 48, of Jamaica Plain, celebrates the first anniversary of Suriel Food Products Distributor in its current location, the Brewery Small Business Center, part of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp. His small, but quickly growing company supplies Latino neighborhood markets and restaurants around the region with frijoles and much more. Suriel, who worked as an accountant and sporting goods retailer in the Dominican Republic, arrived in New York City a year and a half ago, determined to establish a new life in the United States for his family.

After working for seven months as a deliveryman in New York, Suriel and family, which includes his wife Alta Gracia and six children, ages 6 to 27, made a Christmas-time trip to Boston in 2003 to visit friends and relatives. The family decided that Boston was the best place to settle, and Suriel saw an opportunity in Boston's Latino market.

''Imported food doesn't come in directly to Boston's port," he says through a Spanish translator. ''It all comes through New Jersey. This means that a shop or restaurant owner sometimes has to wait a day or two to get food products. But with all of the products stocked up right here, I'm always ready to fill their order and make deliveries right away."

Of course, for a new immigrant with a large family and no credit history, and who speaks almost no English, renting space and buying in bulk is no easy task. But Suriel, who also works two part-time cleaning jobs, is affable and focused. He knows how to make friends in the right places.

One of those friends is Travis Lee, a Business Development Specialist with Accion USA, a Boston-based nonprofit that offers ''micro" loans to businesspeople of all backgrounds who, according to the organization's mission statement, ''have been shut out of the traditional banking sector."

Last December, Accion was one of 25 organizations nationwide to receive a 2005 Social Capitalist Award given by Fast Company Magazine and Monitor Group. It was the second year Accion got the award.

For a new immigrant, says Lee, micro loans are essential.

''Mariano arrived in the US with plenty of determination but without the credit history necessary to get that vital starting loan," says Lee. ''We believe that helping these small businesses around the city can help transform entire communities."

Last March, Accion gave Suriel a loan of $500. More significantly, however, the loan allowed Suriel to begin establishing a good credit history and a good working relationship with his creditors. ''I've worked closely with Mariano," says Lee, ''It was clear very early on that he is not only qualified but extraordinarily dedicated to seeing the business through. He's doing this all for his family."

Within six months, Suriel received another loan from Accion, worth $5,500, and his business began to get some serious lift. With the help of a community organization right in his own backyard, the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp., Suriel found an affordable space to rent.

With a 4,400-square-foot room, his business could grow beyond the confines of his own living room, which had been doubling as a storehouse.

''I got a list of all the Latino markets and restaurants in the area, and I went door-to-door to introduce myself," he says. ''Even before I got the big space and the van, I already had a pretty good-sized group of customers."

Suriel laughs when he recalls his first month in business. ''I made $190," he says. ''But then things got much better; for the rest of the year, I brought in $13,000 a month on average."

On his way to make a delivery, Suriel puts on a baseball cap with a big B on it. With one foot out the door, he quickly summarizes his plans: ''I want to earn enough to quit my other jobs, install large refrigerators/freezers, hire a manager to run this business, learn some English, and start my accounting business again."

And rest?

''Yes," he says. ''Maybe."

Suriel will join local entrepreneurs this Tuesday at 6 p.m. at 146 Maverick St. in East Boston for a free workshop on law and business. The Spanish-speaking event, cosponsored by Accion and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, will answer local Latino businesspeople's questions about contracts, incorporation, commercial loans, and employment.