Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets

When Lola Pokorny decided it was time in 2009 to make her entrepreneurial dream come true in Las Vegas, the gross domestic product had contracted by 5.1 percent, making the Great Recession the worst economic downturn in the United States since the Great Depression.

More than 8 million jobs were shed, with unemployment hitting 10 percent.

Virtually everyone Pokorny talked to — particularly in the restaurant business — questioned her sanity when she said she intended to open a restaurant in the old Holsum bakery on West Charleston Boulevard.

Not only were restaurants shuttering as the downturn meant fewer people eating out, but the location she chose also had been the site of two failed eateries.

While the area was trumpeted by city leaders as an Arts District gateway to downtown, Pokorny was advised by business people that crime and parking would be problematic.

But Lola’s — A Louisiana Kitchen, fueled partially by savings from Pokorny’s small catering business, opened in 2009.

Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets.

The 46-seat eatery became so successful — its Cajun cooking was featured on the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” in 2012 — that in 2014 she was able to open another Lola’s three times as large across from Summerlin Hospital.

She purchased an acre and a half of property, remodeling what had been a Ruby Tuesday’s that sat on part of the land.

“My first restaurant in Holsum Lofts reminded me of something off Bourbon Street,” Pokorny, a native of Louisiana, said as she sat inside her Summerlin Lola’s. “I knew it would be a destination place, not a hamburger joint found on every corner. I knew we’d make it if we consistently offered great foot and great service to get repeat customers. I researched the area — research is critical to success — for authentic Louisiana cooking and saw an opening. And rents were low then.”

TMC Financing Senior Vice President Ann Santiago, whose firm joined with Bank of America to arrange the $1.6 million Small Business Administration loan that helped fund Lola’s expansion into Summerlin, says the 56-year-old Pokorny is a great example of what tenacity can do.

“She persevered in a terrible economy,” she said. “And she refused to be satisfied and built on her success. She’s a model for women — all entrepreneurs.”

About 30 percent of Nevada’s businesses are owned by women.

“There’d be more,” Santiago said, “but they don’t have access to the good ol’ boy network in things like banking.”

Today, Pokorny, the mother of three grown children, works 16-hour days and employs 64 people.

“I’ve said when it becomes a job, I’ll close,” said Pokorny, whose 15 years in catering helped her understand the financial end of her business. “I agree with Dolly Parton, whose daddy told her to find something you love to do and then figure out a way to get paid for it. Passion is critical to success.”

Pokorny, one of five children born to an air traffic controller and stay-at-home mom, was born in New Orleans, but spent much of her early life in Monroe, La. Her parents taught her to cook Cajun cuisine.

As a teen, she worked at Dunkin’ Donuts to earn spending money.

While going through a divorce, she moved to Las Vegas in 1990.

Though busy raising children and catering Cajun cuisine, she never lost the dream of owning a restaurant. It was sparked by her parents’ love of cooking and her mother’s delight when eating at a local steakhouse.

“I told my sister when I was 8 I’d own a restaurant that made people happy,” she said.

Her father’s insistence on a garden for vegetables and fruits at home transferred to her Summerlin restaurant.

On this day near Lola’s parking lot, she picks what she’s planted — cucumbers, tomatoes, okra, watermelon, figs, egg plant and peppers. It’s all used by chef Mario Amaral.

Fruit trees she planted provide shade as she harvests.

“Anything you water should be able to be eaten,” she said.

She wears 4-inch heels to garden.

“I’m comfortable doing everything in heels,” Pokorny said. “I always buy them.”

Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets.

Paul Harasim’s column runs Sunday, Tuesday and Friday in the Nevada section and Thursday in the Life section. Contact him at pharasim@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5273. Follow @paulharasim on Twitter.