May 1, 2017

Meet Ana Santos-Vitelo of Brazil Express Grill in Northwest Suburbs

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ana Santos-Vitelo.

Ana, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
After immigrating to the United States from Brazil, I started working for restaurants as a hostess and server. I quickly fell in love with the hospitality business. More than ten years passed while I was gathering experience and money to fulfill my dream of opening my own business.

During those years, many sacrifices were made, specially while raising a child and dealing with one of the worst recessions in America’s history.

Nevertheless, against all odds and facing many challenges, I was able to open Brazil Express Grill, alongside my husband and partner Mario Vitelo. Brazil Express Grill, opened in 2012, is the first casual Brazilian Steakhouse in Illinois, providing people with a more reasonable priced Brazilian dining experience.

My dream was to be able to share the Brazilian food and culture with the biggest number of people possible, making it more accessible and affordable for everybody.

Coming from an undeveloped country where the everyday struggles make one a strong and more resourceful person, I developed abilities to overcome all difficulties including the language barrier.

With hard work came recognition, success, millions of dollars in revenue and the honor of being featured as an author in the book “Today’s Inspired Latina”, launched in 2015.

Now, we are opening our second restaurant in Downers Grove, called Nossa! Brazilian Grill. It will be a different concept from our first restaurant. My goal is to make Brazilian food even more popular. It will be our debut in the fast-casual segment.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I had many obstacles on my journey and it hasn’t been a smooth road at all. My biggest obstacle was the lack of knowledge, which I was able to overcome by looking for incredible mentors. It took a lot of focus, sacrifice and research to transition from being a server to a business owner.

While I found many people that believed in me, on the other side, greedy people tried to take advantage of my lack of experience, so you have to learn how to defend yourself and keep working hard.

Another obstacle would be the lack of financing to help me in the most difficult times. It was really difficult to get to the point where banks begin to trust you.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Brazil Express Grill – Casual Brazilian Steakhouse – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Brazil Express Grill is the first casual Brazilian Steakhouse in Illinois and what it means is that people are able to try the so beloved Brazilian Food for a more reasonable price.

Corporate Chain Brazilian Steakhouses are very expensive, but at Brazil Express Grill, we provide the same great quality food and service for a less expensive price. Our Brazilian food is considered over the top, and we are able to provide guests with the entire Brazilian dining experience in a casual and relaxed setting.

We are proud of our food being fresh, our traditional Brazilian recipes made from scratch and our top notch, friendly service.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
With Brazil Express being a solid business now, we see the opportunity of making Brazilian food even more affordable and popular. We are opening our second restaurant this Spring of 2017.

Nossa! Brazilian Grill will be the first fast-casual Brazilian restaurant in Illinois. The new restaurant will be located in Downers Grove.

We are very excited to share our food and our culture with all these amazing people!

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