Suana at Pizza Bello
Every business owner has a story. This came to light recently when Suana Hamulic sent me an email about her life. A few years ago Suana and her husband Regis leased retail space in the Hopyard Village Shopping Center, just below my office in Pleasanton, and opened a pizza shop.
Suana was born in Bosnia. Because of the horrific war, and for her own safety, she was forced to leave her home, friends, and family at age 17. She was alone with no connections. Over the next three years she managed to cross the borders of Slovenia, Austria, and eventually Germany. There she connected with a few people from her hometown.
“All we had was hope and sharing stories together,” Suana wrote. “I lost my mom, some of my family members, lost my friends. I had everything before the war, great family and friends, great education, life with no worries. But lost everything overnight. After I left Bosnia and everything I had there, my life was miserable, I suffered for years.”
Eventually Suana was fortunate and received Bosnian refugee status from the US Government. She migrated to California in 1999.
“Back home,” Suana wrote, “I always heard about America as the land full of opportunities, and that is the truth. I didn’t waste any time, I immediately started working and going to school, got my degree and advanced in my career.”
Even with a successful career, the dream of owning a business was strong and kept tugging at her heart. When Suana and Regis purchased a home in Pleasanton they noticed a vacant space in Hopyard Village. They quickly saw the advantage of opening Pizza Bello near the Pleasanton Sports Park. “I’ve always liked the center and found it very warm, very kids and family friendly, the way I wanted our shop to be.”
Today Pizza Bello is going strong. Of course Suana still misses her mother and many others she lost, but she has created a safe place for kids and families. Owning a small business is magic that way – you can touch the whole community and recreate your dreams.
All of us at Goble Properties are proud of Suana and honored to have her as a client. As I said, every business owner has a story to tell. I’m glad Suana shared hers.