Viewpoint

Cora Mussely Tsouflidou

The Breakfast Queen

Back in 1987, when she bought a small neighbourhood restaurant in Montréal, Cora Mussely Tsouflidou wanted only to get over her divorce and put food on the table for her three teenage children. Today, she is the woman behind more than 70 Chez Cora or Cora's restaurants in Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, where she feeds thousands of people every morning.

"When I first started out, I could not even ask myself whether or not I had what it takes to be an entrepreneur. But as soon as we surfaced and realized we were eating our three meals a day, I immediately asked myself how I could increase our family income, how I could do better. I knew I needed to bring in more business."

If starting her own business was a question of survival for Tsouflidou, she acknowledges it is probably more difficult for those not motivated by a similar sense of urgency. "It was never really a question of wondering whether it was going to be easy or not: I just did it. Today I realize that the more comfortable someone is in their job, the more difficult it will be for that person because of the sacrifices that will have to be made. That's what makes it difficult to get in touch with our inner entrepreneur, that longing to be in control of our own life rather than being at someone else's mercy. I don't think it's harder today than it used to be. But the more comfortable we are, the more difficult it will be."

When Tsouflidou maintains that business sense comes with time, she speaks from experience. "When I was young, I wanted to do things in business, but I thought entrepreneurs had to be unique people with special gifts. I think that they are ordinary people who have extraordinary persistence."

"Whenever people ask what made me a businesswoman, I always say it was the business that did it. The same way the first child she brings into the world turns a woman into a mother, so my first restaurant turned me into a boss."

She makes no secret of the fact that the recession of the early 90s was good for business. "The Mom or Dad who used to pay $100 to take the kids out for Sunday supper started taking them out for breakfast instead, for less than half the price."

These days, it's the entrepreneurs who are replacing business dinners with the business breakfast. "In our restaurants, we see more and more people having business meetings over breakfast. Many of our new restaurants have enclosed rooms with French doors. During the week, companies, groups or associations can reserve them for their breakfast meetings."

The out-of-province growth experienced by the Chez Cora company taught Tsouflidou that most Canadians have similar tastes when it comes to breakfast. "We were under the impression—and we were told many times—that Ontarians wouldn't go out of their way to get a better breakfast, but that's not true. When it's a question of getting a decent meal, everyone reacts the same way."

However, there are a few minor differences. "Ontarians never used to eat cretons (a kind of pork spread) on their toast in the morning. They had no idea what it was. Now, they ask for it by name. In Winnipeg, people rarely eat real crepes. When they see the word "crepes," they think of pancakes. We don't serve pancakes here in Quebec, but we have them at our Winnipeg location." One more variation: everywhere outside Quebec, the menu lists Steak'n'Eggs. "But it's not a big seller," Tsouflidou confides.

Curiously enough, for many years the Breakfast Queen was someone who never ate breakfast! But not any more. And how does she like her eggs, these days? "Over easy and well done, thank you."

Interview conducted in February 2004