SAN DIEGO -- A local business owner was able to save his business through persistence, some luck and unexpected help from an unlikely source, 10News' Joe Little reported.

James Tuckwell's dream was to own a neighborhood pizzeria.

"I drove past this place. It looks like a pizza place and we didn't have one here, so I said, 'Let's go for it,'" said Tuckwell.

Nine months ago, Tuckwell opened Pizza Gourmet Express located underneath the University Heights sign.

Right now, Tuckwell said he is breaking even, and he said he is OK with that.

"I'm not bouncing my payroll checks -- yet," said Tuckwell.

However, earlier this month Tuckwell's dream got a rude awakening. His creditor, Capital One, raised his interest rate from 8.9 percent to 17 percent. It would cost Tuckwell upwards of $200 a month. He said he was shocked, especially since he just sent Capital One a $5,000 check.

"I paid off a lot of money and I was rewarded with a doubling of my interest rate," said Tuckwell.

Tuckwell called Capital One's customer service to plead his case as a small business owner but got nowhere.

He refused to give up, and he was able to bypass customer service and decided to contact Capital One CEO Richard Fairbank.

Fairbank co-founded the company and has 32,000 employees. Last year, he made $57 million.

"I e-mailed him personally thinking it's going to go in the round filing cabinet," said Tuckwell.

However, the very next day Fairbank's assistant called Tuckwell directly and told him his interest rate would be reset to its original percentage.

"Yes, the squeaky wheel gets the oil … I was very pleased; they did the right thing," said Tuckwell.

At 8.9 percent, Tuckwell will be able to continue his dream.

10News tried contacting Capital One for comment but was not as successful as Tuckwell in getting a response.