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CORA TSOUFLIDOU'S COMPANY IS A ROLE MODEL FOR FRANCHISORS WHO WANT TO DELIVER SERVICE WITH A SMILE. BUT IS IT GOOD ENOUGH TO MAKE IT INTHE U.S.?
Cora Tsouflidou saw her future on a placemat. The Quebecoise restaurateur owned two breakfast cafés when, one day, a salesperson came in to pitch her the concept of imprinting placemats with ads alongside the menu. Looking at a sample placemat, Tsouflidou saw, as if in a crystal ball, a map of the province crowded with Chez Cora locations. "Providence installed a chain of restaurants in my head," she recalls two decades later with a warm, mischievous laugh.
Tsouflidou has a knack for telling an inspirational business story, spiced with prophetic moments and head-smacking epiphanies. And she has the biography to support it: á 40-year-old mother of three, deserted by her husband, goes into the restaurant business to survive and sees it take off beyond her wildest dreams. In the 23 years since she began cooking breakfast for people outside her family, The Cora Franchise Group Inc. has grown to 114 corporate and franchised locations stretching across the country, and will finally reach the western edge this spring with the opening of its first British Columbia outpost.
Over that time, Tsouflidou, now chairman of the board, has performed marvels with the simple egg. "From the beginning, Cora's has been quite innovative," says Douglas Fisher, a Toronto-based foodservice and franchise consultant, pointing to the artfully presented and quirkily named dishes loaded with wholesome ingredients to tempt the harried yet increasingly health-conscious masses. "The made-foryou concept, non-European-style breakfast has been one of the great success stories."
Cora's franchises (Chez Cora in Quebec) have defied the recession, with the network adding 16 locations last year and, as a result, sales growing by 1 7%. (Cora's doesn't reveal its revenue, but it's estimated at $75 million to $100 million chain-wide). And it's keeping its outlets profitable - only two have ever been shut down - even though they close in the mid-afternoon daily.
The plan calls for reaching 200 outlets within the next five years, then invading the U.S. - an often treacherous act that has tripped up many successful Canadian franchisors. With more than 3,000 people working under the Cora banner,...