Names: Dan Delgado and June Lee

Ages: 49 and 47

Nationalities: U.S.

Living in: Cotacachi, Ecuador

At the rooster’s first crow and just as the sun peeks a winking eye over Mt. Imbabura, Dan Delgado goes to work.

Funny thing is, he considers himself semi-retired.

“I put more time and energy into this than I’ve ever devoted to any job,” he says. “But I’ve also never before felt so personally connected to both process and outcome.”

As he grabs a finely sharpened Calphalon knife and attacks a pile of waiting zucchinis, he explains: “This is what I want to do for the rest of my days. I would do it whether or not it made lots of money.”

Dan and his wife, June Lee, believe that life is good when you’re doing something you love. And that’s what they’re doing in Ecuador.

But like many of us, it took them a while to reach this point. Just two years ago, firmly rooted in the asphalt jungle of one of the world’s largest cities, they worked at jobs they liked but didn’t find creatively fulfilling.

They yearned to escape New York City—where they were both born and raised—to a quieter, simpler life. And while they knew what they wanted to do, they just didn’t know where it would be.

Dan has 20 years of experience as a New York City chef. June went to school to learn bread baking and worked in the bakery business. Their dream was to open their own restaurant, but they knew they couldn’t afford to do that in the city.

They also wanted to focus on ecology and self-sustainability, and they hoped to eventually have a plot of land where they could grow organic fruits and vegetables.

After a friend recommended Ecuador, Dan and June found themselves on an extended tour of the country in 2008, traveling from north to south along the spine of the Andes Mountains. One of their stops was the artisan town of Cotacachi.

“In Cotacachi, we found an opportunity to volunteer and work on an organic farm, and we enjoyed that,” says June. “Cotacachi had the land and climate we were looking for.”

They also enjoyed the small-town, Main-Street feel and culture of the village, its community-oriented atmosphere and many festivals. The cleanliness of the town was a plus, too. So were its progressive ecological projects, including water, sewage and sanitation improvements.

Two years later Dan and June now own the small Cotacachi café called Bocaditos No Típicos.

“It only took us five months from the time we returned to Cotacachi to open our place,” says Dan. “Thanks to the relationships we developed on our earlier visit, it took only a few days to look around town and find a place to rent.”

The required fire department, safety and health inspections, tax registration process and other details took a bit longer.

“It was somewhat difficult to go through these,” says June, “but Dan is fluent in Spanish and that was incredibly helpful. The municipal offices, too, were very helpful and cordial.”

Bocaditos No Típicos, which literally means “little non-typical tastings,” is not the type of restaurant normally found in a village like Cotacachi.

Dan and June offer a menu that changes daily and consists of small portions of up to 10 items on a plate. The dishes use local produce and are influenced by a different culture every day: mostly Indian, Thai, Japanese, Chinese (June’s mom’s recipes) and Mediterranean dishes. Dan makes his own tofu, wheat proteins, preserves and ice cream.

June takes reservations and cleans the café. (They have no employees.) She interacts with customers, serves and waits on tables. In the afternoon, she shops for the next day’s menu and makes the next day’s breads and dessert. Her specialties include lemon bars, pies, flan and brioche.

In just a few short months, the business is more successful than they had hoped. Future plans include a catering business and intimate dinner parties serving special menus.

“We’re happy and excited about the future,” June says.

“We feel fortunate to have found a modest means of supporting ourselves,” Dan adds, “doing the things we’ve always enjoyed, in an environment that offers never-ending opportunities to grow and be creative. We enjoy making the food we serve, and we really enjoy the happy faces of the people who eat it!”

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Starting a Business Overseas—Dan and June Say…

Visit first to find out what you’re getting into and look for opportunities.

If you’re starting a business that involves trade tools, bring them along because it may be difficult to find tools of the same quality… and if you are able to find them, they may be more expensive than at home because of tariffs.

We had an excellent cargo/shipping expert help us with shipping our cookware and cargo. Sandra Baquero is well respected in the port of Guayaquil, and her fee is reasonable. E-mail: sandy_baquero@hotmail.com.

Think outside the box. It’s not necessary to stay in your current field. If you have a lifelong dream, you may very well be able to attain it overseas.

Editor’s Note: This article was taken from a past issue of International Living’s monthly magazine. To get full access to all past and future articles and to receive the magazine in the mail or online each month, you can subscribe here.

Read more articles from our sample issue here.