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

Ann Thomas left her lucrative job as an attorney at a Washington, D.C. law firm to found her eponymous coaching and consulting business, which is dedicated to helping her clients become what she calls “life activists,” working on behalf of their own lives. In addition to one-on-one coaching, she also offers group “Success Circles,” and a variety of workshops and retreats. As an out lesbian professional, Thomas says networking events, necessary to grow her business, can sometimes be daunting experiences. “Because of the way I look, people assume I’m straight,” Thomas says. “Once I had a woman stammer when I corrected her assumption that I was married to a man. She later proclaimed that I must have an issue with my sexuality since I had to ‘announce’ it as soon as I met her. Needless to say, our working relationship ended shortly thereafter.” In her latest venture, the Law Offices of Ann Thomas, Esq., PLLC, she shares her entrepreneurial expertise by helping women with the legal aspects of operating small businesses and nonprofits.