Referral Success Story: Republic Bank and La Cucina at the Market

by PIDCphila
July 25, 2016

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ANNA MARIA FLORIO, the proprietor of La Cucina at the Market
Anna Maria Florio: the proprietor of La Cucina at the Market

Republic Bank is dedicated to their small business customers. Stephen McWilliams, Republic’s Senior Vice President, was able to identify that the financing need of La Cucina at the Market wasn’t the best fit for Republic. Instead of just saying no, he served as a trusted adviser and referred them to PIDC—he knew that PIDC could help small businesses access the capital they need even if their bank says it is not able to accommodate the loan.

La Cucina at the Market is a nine year old demonstration kitchen business owned by, Anna Maria Florio, a Philadelphia native, chef, and culinary instructor who trained in the Campania region of Italy. La Cucina offers a unique, interactive culinary experience with a rotating schedule of themed classes. Along with her highly trained staff, these courses feature expertise in global cuisine involving handmade pasta, seafood, and wine pairing. Visit the website lacucinaatthemarket.com to see a full listing of classes and information about private parties!

For the last two years, Anna Maria had been running her business out of a temporary space at the Dorrance Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises in West Philadelphia. As La Cucina became more successful Anna Maria knew that she needed more space for her craft. She identified a great location at 12th and Arch Streets, on the ground level of the Home2Suites Convention Center hotel.  However to transform the space into the perfect new home for La Cucina, Anna Maria needed financing. When she meet Stephen at one of her own culinary courses, she began exploring her options. Ultimately, her need was not quite a fit for Republic, but because of the dedication Republic has to support small business growth, they didn’t stop there. Republic Bank continued to help Anna Maria and referred her to the opportunities available from PIDC. We were able to help La Cucina with a Working Capital & Equipment Loan to support the build out of the new space.  And today, La Cucina at the Market’s new location is up and running and entertaining and educating more groups in the most delicious ways.

We have been thrilled to work with our partner, Republic Bank, to help a small business continue their growth in Philadelphia, accessing the financing they need.

PIDC values our relationships with the bankers (and accountants, attorneys, and brokers) who know their client’s business the best. PIDC can offer tools and resources that help our partners stay competitive in an aggressive market and to be a trusted advisor for their clients.  We have a variety of flexible financing so we can partner to fill a funding gap or we can be a soft landing place to refer business that you are unable to service. If you have clients we might be able to help we’d love to discuss. Refer a client to our website at http://www.pidcphila.com/who-we-are/who-we-serve/referral-partner or contact Ivy Olesh Market Manager for Strategic Partnerships at

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