Queer Women We Love, Red Hot Entrepreneurs, Wonder Women

Workin’ It 2010

November 8, 2010 Cheryle Burke, Kat Long

Some chefs spend years in pricey culinary institutes trying to master natural foods. Deborah Gavito, proprietor of the snazzy NYC vegetarian restaurant Counter, learned the art of cooking with seasonal produce and edible weeds from her grandmothers. Gavito’s early fascination with natural cooking has grown into a long-time dedication to local and sustainable foods: her first venture, an all-natural baked goods business called Body & Soul, debuted in 1993. She sold her scrumptious treats at the Union Square Greenmarket, where she developed an appreciation for family farmers, and earned enough dough (pun intended) to open Counter in 2003. As Counter’s proprietor, Gavito designs fresh vegetarian fare, biodynamic wines and cleverly named organic vodka martinis (one is called “The Angry Lesbian”). “I waited on tables years and years ago, but other than that, I’ve only worked for myself,” Gavito says. “I don’t think I could take orders from any one else.”

45 of 2010’s Red Hot Entrepreneurs

Protecting New Yorkers has always been Gina M. Bonica’s personal and professional goal. A partner in the full-service LGBT law firm Kurland, Bonica & Associates, P.C., Bonica concentrates on family law matters and collaborates on civil rights and general litigation matters with founding partner Yetta G. Kurland. Prior to private practice, Bonica was the youngest Assistant D.A. in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office’s Major Narcotics Bureau. She also volunteers her time with the American Cancer Society and speaks to the public and the media on same-sex adoptions, workplace discrimination and hate crimes. Bonica stays focused with “the satisfaction of knowing that my firm has helped our clients and their families obtain relief they desperately need. In doing so, we are able to give our clients back their voice which as a community, has been silenced for too long.