10- LEOR BARAK — Owner, New York Grilled Cheese Co./Philanthropist
Mention Leor Barak and two images come to mind. The handsome French-Canadian Jew who took Wilton Manors by storm when he opened a frozen yogurt shop on the Drive a few years back, and later enlarged it to become the sensation known as the New York Grilled Cheese Co. Far more than the official late-night post-bar hangout in the gayborhood, NYGCC is also a fundraising Nexus for the community. Leor freely opens his establishment to charitable events and gives just as freely of his profit to benefit organizations like SMART Ride and the Pride Center. His contagious smile hides the soul of a businessman who quietly has given a fresh start to many of the area’s youth who have gotten in trouble with the law and needed work. Now in his early 30s, Leor is a symbol of success done right. And remarkably, he’s newly single. Catch him if you can at the quick-café’s newest location about to open in Boca Raton.
