BRINGING THE FRIJOLES TO BEANTOWN
It started with a $500 micro loan
By Avi Steinberg, THE BOSTON GLOBE

Surveying his cavernous Jamaica Plain warehouse, stocked high with colorfully-packaged items from teas to spices to canned vegetables to frijoles, frijoles, and more frijoles, Mariano Suriel nods his head with measured approval.

"All of this" he says, sweeping his hand through the air while, in the process, nearly tripping over his newly adopted kitten, ''it all started with $500. Can you believe that? Even I don't always believe it."

This month Suriel, 48, of Jamaica Plain, celebrates the first anniversary of Suriel Food Products Distributor in its current location, the Brewery Small Business Center, part of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp. His small, but quickly growing company supplies Latino neighborhood markets and restaurants around the region with frijoles and much more. Suriel, who worked as an accountant and sporting goods retailer in the Dominican Republic, arrived in New York City a year and a half ago, determined to establish a new life in the United States for his family.

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