The success story of Valerie Rebellato, owner of Cafe Paulista. Rebellato has been in the food service industry since she was 6 years old when she started working in her family's catering business in Brazil.

Even though she's been in the United States for a little over 12  years now, Rebellato has lived in the Upstate for only four years. When she first moved to Greenville, she opened up a small Brazilian cafe. She didn't have a hood for her grill though, so she had to cook the majority of her food outside.

When a building opened up on Wade Hampton, she and her business partner, Paul Wisham, moved her restaurant there. After nine months of renovation, they opened up Cafe Paulista Grille.

"We try to make this a family restaurant so people can come over and feel comfortable and enjoy the blend of everything," Rebellato says. "Customers come and expect to have good food and good service, and we have that."

She says the biggest challenge when they first started was remodeling the building to get it ready for business.

"We have a lot of usual customers coming in here two or three times a week," she says.

Everything on the menu is made from scratch, from the rice and beans to the breads and pastries. Rebellato also has a mini-mart at the front of the restaurant, offering a selection of Brazilian chocolates, coffee and various other types of food.