The Heart & Soul Of A Restaurateur

Episode # 63 - You know this business is all about passion… the blood, sweat, tears and hard knocks that define a triumphant restaurateur. Mr. Chris Lowes or “C Lo” as he likes to be called is the embodiment of this business. He fell into restaurants because of a dream, then unexpectedly had the bottom fall out beneath him and he had a “dig deep” decision to make - Go forward or quit defeated and suffer the consequences. I remember well over 20 years ago before I opened the doors to my first restaurant and my chef stole $40,000 of my start-up funds never to be seen again. The more I talked to Chris, the more we had in common and the similar stories we had to tell… challenges to figure out with no experience, lack of capital, survival and then putting the critical “systems” in place to run a profitable operation and be “In It To WIN It”! Chris runs the Mahtay Cafe in the Niagara region of Canada. His dream was about the romance of a cafe. The whole idea of great thinkers, artists, writers and entrepreneurs coming together in a common space and the conversations between the walls of the cafe. Conversations of ideas, lovers, friends. The idea of a cafe as hub for a community. Listen as Chris tells his story of the obstacles he faced to establish his now busy Cafe, the steps he’s taking to “systemize” his operation and how dreams still come true everyday in the restaurant business. You can find Mahtay at www.facebook.com/mahtaycafe and www.twitter.com/mahtaycafe If you enjoy the Restaurant Rock Stars Podcast, please leave us a review on iTunes. Best of success, Roger