PALATE PLEASER

Baldwin Park residents AJ Campofiore and Francisco ‘Chico’ Mendonça brought Bem Bom’s brick-and-mortar location to life in late 2018.

Danielle Hendrix

The ‘good good’ life

Over the years, Baldwin Park alleyway neighbors AJ Campofiore and Francisco ‘Chico’ Mendonça’s friendship allowed them to cultivate a vision for their Corrine Drive restaurant, Bem Bom.

30 DANIELLE HENDRIX ASSOCIATE EDITOR W hen two Baldwin Park residents first met in the alley between their homes years ago, they had no idea their budding friendship would lead to them becoming restaurateurs.

AJ Campofiore and Francisco “Chico” Mendonça are the business partners behind Bem Bom, a Mexican and Portuguese restaurant on Corrine Drive. They also happen to be neighbors connected by an alleyway between their homes.

Campofiore and Mendonça both moved their families to Baldwin Park in 2011. Campofiore, Bem Bom’s managing partner, is originally from Connecticut. Mendonça, Bem Bom’s chef and founder, was raised in Portugal but moved to Baldwin Park from Dallas, Texas. Mendonça, a classically trained French chef with more than 25 years of experience in culinary arts, moved to the Orlando area to

BALDWIN PARK LIVING | FEBRUARY 2020 help open another local restaurant. He soon realized he was meant to create his own concept. That’s when Bem Bom — which means “good good” in Portuguese — was born.

“I said, ‘I want to do something that I can depend on myself and don’t have to answer to anybody,’” he says. “I’m just going to serve what I want to serve and let the customer dictate whether they like it or not. Food trucks were just starting in Orlando. … I was looking at them and saying, ‘What kind of business could I do for myself?’ People seemed to have fun with the food trucks. I said, ‘That’s really amazing.’ It was only its infancy in Orlando.”

He and his wife bought their first food truck soon, and Bem Bom

quickly grew a large base of loyal customers. Drawing on his culinary training, Mendonça decided to offer both Mexican and Portuguese cuisine inspired by both countries’ fresh, traditional fare. The food truck was a huge success, and many customers who visit Bem Bom’s brick-and-mortar location today began eating Mendonça’s cuisine when he first introduced his food truck. But little did he know that some of the most exciting — and some of the most grueling — chapters in Bem Bom’s book were yet to come.

BALDWIN PARK TO BEM BOM Growing up as neighbors in Baldwin Park, Campofiore and Mendonça’s children played together frequently. It was only natural that their parents became good friends, too.

“The husbands and wives would hang out when Chico wasn’t working and I wasn’t traveling for work,” Campofiore says. “We’d socialize and have cocktails. We’d throw these big back alley parties; we’d have live music and the food truck. It was fun times.”

Campofiore, an entrepreneur at heart, had previously owned concepts, while Mendonça had the restaurant experience. Soon, Campofiore and Mendonça began formulating a plan to expand Bem Bom’s reach in the community.

On New Year’s Day in 2016, Campofiore signed the lease for the restaurant’s location on Corrine Drive. Things were moving along, but little did the two know what was in store for them. It began with circulating through a few different contractors for various reasons. There were many roadblocks along the way.

“We were coming across all this stuff; it was crazy,” Campofiore says. “The clock kept ticking, and the worst thing for us was we didn’t own the building. We paid rent, lights, insurance, everything. … Everything that could happen did happen.”

Between acquiring all the proper permitting, hiccups with contractors and the overall extensive

3101 Corrine Drive, Orlando PHONE: (407) 960-5101 HOURS: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays WEBSITE: bembomfood.com FACEBOOK: facebook.com/ bembononcorrine INSTAGRAM: @bembomoncorrine TWITTER: @bembomfood

THREE TO TRY

n Piri-piri chicken — Marinated for 24 to 48 hours in Bem Bom’s piri-piri marinade and served with fries and a small salad. Comes with choice of sauce.

n Smoked chicken enchiladas — Apple, smoked chicken, onion and Monterrey Jack on a corn tortilla. Served with daily rice and black beans, and topped with one or two sauces: tomatillo or guajillo.

n Mango painted fish tacos — Two tacos served with Bem Bom slaw, avocado, mango paint, serrano, piri-piri and radish.

renovation, Bem Bom’s timeline to opening kept stretching longer and longer. Additionally, the building it’s housed in previously was a bank — thick, solid steel and cement that once served the purpose of security were part of the construction woes to be worked around.

In August 2018, it finally was time to open.

“We open the doors to a great crowd of people, full house, buzz and excitement,” Campofiore says. Then, they ran into issues with the point-of-sales system that forced them to close within two hours of opening. They fixed the system that night and were ready to reopen the next day.

“Fortunately for us we had a strong friendship, because the pitfalls we hit trying to open this place was the Titanic hitting the iceberg multiple times — but it didn’t sink,” Campofiore says. “We just kept persevering. …We had help from people along the way. Those at our core never gave up on us — people believed in us.” COMPLEMENTARY COMBINATION Those who visit or are familiar with Bem Bom know it radiates a vibrant and lively atmosphere. One wall is a collage, handmade by Mendonça, of various wine boxes. Another features Mexican ceramic tiles arranged in meticulous patterns. There’s a pink wall, a marbled kitchen counter and an outdoor patio with string lights.

But the driving factor, Campofiore says, always will be Mendonça’s food. Bem Bom’s menu sources from local farmers and fishermen and imports flavor-packed ingredients. The menu offers everything from piri-piri chicken, enchiladas and lamb burgers to quesadillas, tacos and various sandwiches.

“Knowing him and the way he cooked and the kind of chef he is, I wanted people to experience what he does outside of that food-truck environment, because he’s very talented,” he says. “A lot of food trucks are built by successful, seasoned chefs. When it came time to talk about a brick-and-mortar store … from a business standpoint, it’s a no-brainer.

“I couldn’t be happier for him,” Campofiore says. “He’s very talented, and I like when people appreciate what he does. … I knew they needed to see what this guy could do, and here we are a year-and-ahalf later, and they love what he does.”

Mendonça says he and Campofiore complement one another with their respective knowledge and talents. Mendonça likes to cook and is glad Campofiore takes care of the logistics.

“We wanted to open a restaurant, do business, have fun … and serve the community,” Mendonça says. “The best part for me was opening the doors. That was the happiest day. The community around here knew our struggles … and they stuck by us.” “ We wanted to open a restaurant, do business, have fun … and serve the community. The best part for me was opening the doors. That was the happiest day.”

— FRANCISCO “CHICO” MENDONÇA

Glenridge Middle students are thrilled to have access to virtual reality headsets.

Funding excellence

Glenridge Middle Lions Pride Fund co-chairs are celebrating this school year’s accomplishments and hope to ramp up fundraising momentum in 2020.

DANIELLE HENDRIX ASSOCIATE EDITOR T he ability to offer the latest technology and rigorous academic and arts programs comes at a cost.

At Glenridge Middle, that cost can be hefty — especially considering the thousands of dollars in International Baccalaureate program dues paid each year.

But for those involved with the Lions Pride Fund — and the Glenridge community at large — their children are worth every penny invested.

The fund’s main purpose is to ensure an exceptional educational experience for all students at Glenridge Middle School by raising funds from parents and local businesses to make improvements to the school.

At the beginning of the 2019-20 school year, Baldwin Park residents Robyn Bowers and Wendi Moses took on the task of co-chairing the fund with the intent of helping make the school the best it can be.

This school year alone, Glenridge students and teachers have enjoyed the fruits of the labor poured into the Lions Pride Fund. From new, state-of-the-art pieces of technology to instruments and bandstands, everything helps teachers equip their students for success.

And although the duo says the fund has gained traction this year, there is still a long way to go to hit the fund’s $65,000 end-of-year goal. To date, that number is about $37,000.

After all, the physical education

Danielle Hendrix

department is in need of a new volleyball net. The current one being used was purchased in 2003. Additionally, there always is something the school can use that might not necessarily be funded by the district.

“We are a public school and … we are one of the biggest middle schools in the county,” says Bowers, who works as the 504 and testing coordinator at Glenridge. “But middle school, it’s those crucial years. It’s the years where you find yourself, but parents tend to back away a little bit (after elementary school), and they forget we have so many students of different ethnicities and ages. We’re an IB school, (so) we also offer foreign language and the arts, so those funds that we get can help fund all those extracurricular activities and electives that we have and make it better.”

“Everybody loves that Glenridge is an IB school, and the truth is we couldn’t be an IB school without the Lions Pride Fund,” Moses says. “I think the community loves that we’re an IB school but doesn’t necessarily always know that it’s because we’re paying for this.”

Aside from paying the annual IB dues in August, the Lions Pride Fund was able to purchase 32 virtual reality headsets. That also included the purchase of a special course code, which allowed for the creation of a brand-new class focused on virtual reality technology. The virtual reality lab and new curriculum allow students to create virtual reality games, among other things. That alone cost more than $10,000, Bowers said.

“We ordered all those and took care of that during the summer, so the first week of school, those were already able to be in place,” Bowers says. “It’s been wonderful. I know one of my friends’ kids who just started (the class) on Tuesday, she said on Wednesday the teacher did this underwater thing with the virtual reality headsets and she loved it.”

Bowers added the fund has purchased 75 bandstands, two 3-D printers, three violins and some strings to go along with them this school year.

But with the holidays and the season of giving now in the rearview,

SUPPORT THE LIONS Glenridge Middle School and the Lions Pride Fund need your support to help them reach their $65,000 fundraising goal for the 2019-20 school year. The fund’s current priority is a new volleyball net. Funds also will be used for teachers’ IB trainings, volleyball and track uniforms, STEM equipment and other necessities for the arts and sports.

To learn more or to contribute, visit bit. ly/35SyCde. Facebook: facebook.com/GlenridgeLionsPride Instagram: @LionsPrideFund Email: GMSLionsPrideFund@gmail. com 2020 is all about keeping the momentum going for the Lions Pride Fund.

“This year is new, and the Lions Pride Fund is not new, but we’re trying to revamp it,” Bowers says. “Every year, we hope that it gets better and better. We want to try to get parents more involved. … The donations that are collected, 100% goes back into the school for whatever we need.”

Moses added she and Bowers, along with the parents who serve on the Lions Pride Fund’s board, make a great team.

“We complement each other well,” she says. “Robyn reached out to the whole staff to find out what was needed and that’s how we chose our goals, based on what was needed. … (The fund) has purchased a variety of 3-D printer filaments, LEGO Mindstorm robots, coding robots, and we just purchased not too long ago badminton sets for P.E. We’re pretty much focusing on technology, IB dues, training and the arts, including music and P.E.” The duo hopes to be able to recruit more sponsors to help provide the best technology and equipment possible for Glenridge students. The volleyball net currently is the most urgent need, and every dollar makes a difference.

Donors who give $500 or more for the 2019-20 school year will be recognized in a donor list published in Principal Dr. Chris Camacho’s e-newsletter, as well as on the fund’s Facebook page, Instagram and on the school marquee.

“I want to make Glenridge the best it could possibly be,” Bowers says. “I really decided to take this job because I love the school, I love working there. I live in Baldwin Park, my kids are going to go to Glenridge, so I really decided to do this so it could be the best school it could possibly be. Whether somebody gives 50 cents or $100, every little thing makes a difference.

“When the teachers are happy, the kids are happy,” Bowers says. “When the teachers feel respected and appreciated and you give them what they really need, it makes their life easier.”

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