SEPTEMBER 26 • 2019 | 85 Business Starting a Business New book offers advice from someone who’ s been there. A fter seven years of work- ing for a real estate com- pany, Matthew Fenster decided it was time to become his own boss. So, in 1998, he founded his own company, Paragon. Based in Royal Oak, it has grown into more than just real estate in the last 20 years. Now with Paragon’ s suc- cess, Fenster is releasing a book with plenty of entrepreneurial advice called How To Start A Business. Fenster, 51, describes his book as an “ easy, step-by-step guide for budding entrepre- neurs.” The West Bloomfield native hopes the book can help people start a business like he did, without having to go through as much adversity. He began his career in real estate during college. “My cousin was a home builder, and during the summer when I was in college, he offered me a job as a laborer,” Fenster says. “I was looking at the sites and I thought it would be really interesting to learn how to put this whole thing together.” He pursued a career as a real estate broker after graduating from Eastern Michigan University in 1991. Throughout his time as a bro- ker, he learned the ins-and-outs of the real estate business. As his own boss, he had to learn about business ownership as well, which came with some growing pains. “The challenges were fig- uring out where am I going to work from? Where will my office be? How will I retain my clients?” Fenster says. “I had to figure out how I was going to keep this going and not lose income.” The plan to grow his busi- ness took a few years to formu- late, and once it got started, he learned how to operate through trial-and-error. Fenster has kept notes of things he learned as an entre- preneur since 2011 when he began the book, working on it intermittently and eventually consulting with writer Sabrina Must to help him finish it. “The book is a good guide that walks people through not only the process, but also my experi- ence, advice and anecdotes as well,” Fenster says. Fenster’ s mother died five years ago, but he and his father, Irwin, remain close. Throughout his business endeavors, Fenster makes sure his father has an office space so he can come and go as he pleas- es. They also attend services at Temple Israel together. Join Fenster on Thursday, Oct. 3, for a launch party for How to Start a Business at Bistro 82 in Royal Oak starting at 6:30 p.m. The book can be purchased on Amazon starting Oct. 3. MICHAEL PEARCE STAFF WRITER Matthew Fenster COURTESY MATTHEW FENSTER Nosh dining around the D Jamaica Fenton’s Jerk Chicken I came to know Fenton Brown’ s delicious Jamaican and Caribbean specialties during the five years he operated Jamaica Fenton’ s Jerk Chicken on Northwestern Highway, below 12 Mile Road, in Southfield. Things are looking up since Brown opened a larger restaurant last year. Brown’ s new Southfield location is in a shopping strip on the other side of Northwestern, above 12 Mile. The tropical feeling at Fenton’ s starts with the tiki thatch awning over the service counter, where Brown waits on customers. Adorning deep green walls are a map and a flag of Jamaica and mural of Dunn’ s River Falls. Fresh-cut flowers grace the tables. Brown is a down-to-earth man raised in a small village in Jamaica. While a teenager cooking in his grandparents’ restaurant, he became close friends with customers from West Bloomfield. The couple sponsored him to enter the U.S. in 1977. Brown earned a degree in culi- nary arts at Schoolcraft College in Livonia. He did catering and then ran a restaurant inside Barton Malow Company in Southfield before becoming an entrepreneur. Speaking about his house specialty, Brown said, “Our jerk chicken is 100 percent authentic and has no chemicals or preser- vatives.” He serves halal chicken purchased at Saad Wholesale Meats in Detroit’ s Eastern Market. The most important ingre- dient in making jerk chicken is what Brown called “Jamaica pimento.” Its better-known name, allspice, came from Europeans who discovered the unripe berries of the Jamaican bayberry tree in the 1500s. Brown cooks from scratch using “fine, fresh herbs,” such as thyme, rosemary, basil, garlic and onion. I typically order jerk chick- en wings from the restaurant’ s menu board although jerk chick- en breasts and thighs are other options. Caesar salads can be topped with jerk or grilled chick- en breast, as well as blackened salmon. Fenton’ s jerk chicken is flavorful and not overly sea- soned. Each plate comes with two sides. I almost always choose fried plantains (bananas) for one. Black beans are in the rice and beans. My sautéed cabbage side dish had bits of carrot. Jamaican chicken stew and curried goat are other popular entrees. “I do red snapper, Jamaican-style,” said Brown. After pan-frying the snapper, he marinates it for at least an hour in a boiled, then cooled-off mixture that includes Jamaica pimento (allspice). The fish is typically served at break- fast with a type of cassava bread called bammies. Fenton’ s is open daily at 11 a.m., except Sunday, when it opens at noon. Esther Allweiss Ingber Contributing Writer Jamaica Fenton’s Jerk Chicken 29540 Northwestern Hwy Southfield, MI 48034 (248) 739-2558 jamaica-fentons- jerk-chicken-southfield. sites.tablehero.com $$½ out of $$$$