By SUSANNAH CAHALAN

　　Raju Mirchandani, a Dubai-born entrepreneur, owns two upscale cigar and whiskey lounges in New York City, called Bar and Books. Like many small-business owners, he is a romantic, and it was love that led him to open a third lounge in Europe’s golden city, Prague.

　　Jirka Simsa’s story starts in Prague and ends in Burlington, Vermont. Mr.Simsa, 45, is a co-owner of the Company of Tea Devotees that franchises 22 teahouses in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungry and the United States.

　　Opening up an international small business is no small step. Finding responsive business partners who feel comfortable working with a foreigner may be difficult. There are language, legal, and social barriers, and yet, for those who are up for the challenge, the rewards can be great.

　　At Bar and Books, smoke-filled interiors, strict dress codes and book-lined mahogany wall recall, as Mr.Mirchandani, 43, describes, “a time of tradition.” He now owns two of the six remaining smoking havens in New York, yielding over $3 million in yearly revenue.

　　Less than a year ago, Mr.Mirchandani, with the help of his Czech girl-friend, Martina Pestova, 30, made the cross-Atlantic leap. The couple met in 2003 in New York, and Mr.Mirchandani offered Ms.Pestona a job. But she tired of the “ hectic and impersonal city” and returned to Prague. He couldn’t help but follow her there.

　　“I used to tell my friends,” Ms.Pestoca, said with a laugh, “my boyfriend loves me so much that he opened up a bar for me.”

　　The hard part was navigating the financial and legal minefield,Tim Nollen, author of “Culture Shock!: The Czech Republic.” Said it is still the wild East, where “the old Communist regime creeps into everyday business dealings.”

　　In Mr.Nollen’s estimation, it takes twice as long to open a business in Prague than in the States. Bureaucracy-like registering a company, receiving health certification and fire department permits – may seem insurmountable to foreigners. Small-business loans are nearly impossible to procure as a foreigner.

　　Ms. Pestova eased start-up burdens by purchasing an existing business, instantly acquiring permits that she estimates would have taken six months to obtain.

　　Across the Atlantic, Mr. Simsa and his co-owner, Ales Jurina, 43, both native Czechs, relied heavily on market research before opening in Vermont in 2003. “ I didn’t want to get swallowed up by a huge metropolitan area,” he said. Dobra Tea, his American venture, is thriving on yearly revenue of $200,000.

　　But Mr.Simsa contends that the United States has stricter franchising laws than the Czech Republic. His contract requiring each franchisee to purchase teas solely form his wholesale outlet is void in America. He also found that Vermont is more rigid regarding hours of operations, outdoor seating and hookah permits.

　　Mr.Mirchandani, to some degree, agrees. The absence of liquor licenses and ease of smoking create a bar friendly environment in the Czech Republic.

　　Whereas Mr.Mirchandani spends nearly half the year in Prague, Mr.Simsa sold Dobra Tea, leaving behind many logistical hurdles for Amanda Verdery, 26, who became full owner of the Vermont operation in 2005.

　　The No.1 hassle, she said, is importing teas from Prague. But, she says, ”It’s true that you can take something anywhere in the world.” When Mr.simsa opened the first teahouse 1993, Czechs thought he was “crazy to serve tea in a beer and coffee country.”

　　Ms.Verdery faced a similar reaction in the city of the microbrewery and coffee. ”people really didn’t know what to make of us at first,” she said.

　　For Ms. Pestova in Prague, where the average monthly salary is around $850 and drinkers are accustomed to $1 beers, tinkering meant cutting New York price tags at Bar and Books by half.

　　Even with some tinkering, customers can be fickle. The bar’s location near the city’s tourist center mad e it difficult to attract local Czech,“Even my friend wouldn’t come at first,” Ms.Pestova said. “ They thought it would be filled with snobby tourists throwing their money around.”

　　Czech now account for a third of customers –which she called “a huge compliment.”