Business: Chez Francois Poutinerie
Address: 22 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville
Owner: Thi Tram Nguyen, 51, of Naperville
Years in business: Opened in July
What does your business do? “You have the restaurant that is a profit business. And you have the other section we call The Friends of Francois Foundation,” Nguyen said.
What is poutine? “It’s a comfort food from Canada. French fries, cheese curds and gravy. All homemade. All fresh. Cooked from scratch. … You can add sausage, bacon. We have seven versions of poutine. … I prepare fresh gravy three times a day.”
Is poutine a favorite snack in Canada? “The people here grew up with pizza and tacos. Us? We grew up with poutine. After the bar. Snacks. After practices. Poutine is part of our life. In Canada, you’ll find poutine on every corner.”
Is being near North Central College good for business? “The students don’t know about poutine, but when they come and test it, they are hooked. … When they have a football game, we’re good.”
Are you Canadian? “I was a refugee from the Vietnam War. In 1979 I went to Canada, went to college, had a successful life in Canada, lived in Montreal, moved here 10 years ago because my husband got a job in Downers Grove. We chose Naperville because of the service for special needs.”
Special needs? “(School) District 203 is well known for the service and my son Francois was nonverbal at the time. In Canada, the service is not as good. … Here, the kids are included in everything.”
Why did you start this restaurant? “It’s for him. I knew there is a need (of jobs) for special needs people (who I employ here). … They’re here to learn about job skills. … Some work in the kitchen, some clean tables, cut potatoes. … With the foundation, they’ll learn job skills.”
What’s the foundation do? “We’re a vocational job skill program,” foundation president Zoe Koulos, 22, said. “This is our main site. Our goal is to get to other sites because not everybody wants to work at a restaurant. … Our goal is to get them jobs in the community. We’ve found 12 jobs so far in the community and restaurant.”
Is there a busy time? “Weekends are very busy,” Nguyen said. “A lot of schools have community trips, individuals with disabilities, they bring them here, learn how to order food.”
How’s business? “It’s good. The summer was very good. The first year for every business is a challenge. We have great food. If you go to Google or Yelp, you’ll see five-star reviews. … We are trying to promote the food and the concept.”
What do you like best? “The kids. When they come here they are at Ground Zero. Then, you see them grow, talking to strangers, making friends. … We train them so they can survive one day in the real world. For me, the best is to see them become a better version of themselves. We believe in them.”
Any negatives? “Of course, a restaurant is a big challenge. We’re trying to survive. We’re not making any money right now. The rent in downtown Naperville is insane. We’re surviving because the community has been very supportive. A lot of people come for the mission. We need people who come for the poutine.”
What misconceptions do people have? “They think ‘poutine’ is Russian. … We have other options. We have salads, a vegan poutine, chicken and waffles. So, if a mom comes, she can eat a salad. Dad and the kids can eat the poutine. Something for everybody.”
Any challenges? “Getting the word out.”
Any future plans? “I’d like to franchise the business. A lot of people ask, ‘Why don’t you do this restaurant as a nonprofit?’ I don’t want to that because if you do, it’s going to be hard to franchise. I want people to follow this model.”
Do you miss Montreal? “I miss Montreal, but here there’s a community, a family.”
What did you do before this? “I was a medical sales rep. That’s a big switch. I cut down my salary. I’m not doing this for the money. (Those with special needs) need somebody like me. I wanted to be in downtown so people can see them.”
What’s your advice for someone starting a business? “First, you have to be crazy. Second is you have to believe in your idea. No matter what happens, you have to be strong. You will make mistakes and have failures. You hit the wall? Stand up and run again.”
If you know of a business you’d like to see to profiled in Down to Business, contact Steve Metsch at metschmsfl@yahoo.com.
This content was originally published here.
