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An Entrepreneurial American Couple Conquer Paris' Food Scene With a little experience and their own money an American couple opens a wine bar and restaurant in the City of Light.

By Bruce Schoenfeld

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

When Braden Perkins and Laura Adrian went to Paris in 2007, the couple thought they were taking a three-month business research trip.

Perkins had an English lit degree and experience cooking at Seattle restaurants. Adrian, just out of college, had a psychology job that didn't suit her. So they sold their belongings and left for the City of Light. Not as tourists, exactly, but more like entrepreneurs-without-portfolio. They calculated that their money would last about 90 days. They'd scout around, eat some good meals and probably return home with a long-term plan.

"It's five years later," Adrian said when I saw her recently behind the bar at Verjus, their wildly successful restaurant off the Palais Royal."We're still here."