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Someone else made that happen? Business owners know hard work, long hours lead to success


Long hours and hard work helped Joey Vento build a landmark restaurant in Philadelphia from the ground up, but that work ethic may have also sent him to an early grave.



That's why Eileen Vento's blood boiled when she heard President Obama declare last week that small business owners like her husband owed others for their success.
“That is ridiculous. My husband had $6 in his pocket when he started.” Vento said to FoxNews.com about Joey Vento, who opened Geno’s Steaks in 1966 in the neighborhood of South Philly.
“He worked hard his whole life to build the place up. We made a lot of money. Unfortunately he didn’t get to enjoy it.”
- Eileen Vento, widow of cheesesteak king Joey Vento
“He worked hard his whole life to build the place up. We made a lot of money. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to enjoy it,” she added.
Vento worked at the shop right up until a heart attack killed him last August at age 71. His widow believes 45 years of toil to build a prosperous life for his family took a toll on him. She bristled at the comment Obama made during a campaign stop in Roanoke, Va., last Friday when he said business owners owed some of their success to help along the way, noting that government often provides the infrastructure needed for success.
“If you got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen,” Obama said. "If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive."
The comments created a backlash among small business owners and others across the country who feel that entrepreneurship is the backbone of the American economy. Vento's sister-in-law said Joey Vento owed his success to his own hard work and the loyal customers he cultivated.
“He went there at 3 or 4 in the morning and stayed until 11 every night. He did it seven days a week,” said Diana Vergagini. “And when he wasn’t there he'd call in at every shift change asking, ‘How did we do? What’s the bread count? What’s the steak count?’”
Vento gained national notoriety in 2006 when he posted a sign at the order window that read, “This is America: When ordering please ‘speak English.’”


Read more: Someone else made that happen? Business owners know hard work, long hours lead to success -- and an early grave | Fox News