At the age of 27, Kemar Newell has been the owner of the Pleasantville Bakery and Cafe for almost a year. Not bad for a guy who was scrubbing dishes 12 years ago.

Growing up in the Bronx, working in a bakery never really crossed Newell’s mind. As a matter of fact, the only thing he was concerned with was trying to stay off the streets.

“Growing up around the friends that I had, I would usually get into trouble,” Newell said.” I would do a lot of fighting and I was in a very bad place.”

To stay off the streets, Newell found a job cleaning dishes at E & L Bakery in the Bronx. Even though Newell wasn’t making tiramisu, his new environment kept him safe.

“I spent more time working and less time getting into trouble,” Newell said. “Who knows where I would have been without it. I believe that you come have to the realization of who you are, and I did that at a young age.”

But Newell’s realization wasn’t to clean dishes. He wanted to one day own a bakery. There was just one problem: he didn’t have enough money.

To save up, Newell volunteered at different bakeries and chocolate shops around New York. Any money that he would make wouldn’t go towards new shoes or fancy clothes. Rather, it went towards his dream.

His big break came last fall when a small shop was available to purchase in Pleasantville, and the price to buy the store was exactly the amount of money that Newell had saved up. In his mind, this was no coincidence.

“I believe that if you pray and put action towards whatever your heart desires, it’s almost impossible for you to not get what you want,” Newell said. “I think that anyone who sets their heart on something and puts action towards it [can] get it.”

Almost a year after purchasing the store, Newell still has the same fire that helped him through his days of cleaning plates and working in chocolate shops. For him, that fire is the key to running a successful business.