Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Dina Bonnet, owner of Cafe Marguerite, located in Margaretville, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are a small cafe that serves high-end, high-quality coffee, pastries, and savory items. We source as much from the local region as possible. Our coffee, teas, milk, maple syrup, fruit preserves, spices, kimchi, and meats are from around a 150-mile radius of our shop. We make all of our syrups for our coffee in the house, as well as our almond milk. Our customers are people who love quality food naked with love, as much as we do. They are a mix of our amazing local community, weekenders, and visitors. We are both trained chefs that have a passion for food; that’s what brought us together. We want everyone that walks in our door to know that we work hard to please them because that happiness is what keeps us working.
Tell us about yourself
My mom is a chef, and I started cooking at a very early age. I would come home from school and start making dessert. I would call my mom at work and ask her for recipes. I was the only one that was surprised when I decided to pursue culinary as a career. I initially wanted to be a cake decorator, but that idea ended with my first restaurant job at a three-star Italian restaurant, Felida. I fell in love with the energy of fine dining culture and the amazing things we could do with food.
My husband was born and raised in the south of France and didn’t pursue culinary like most of his French peers. He went after high school and excelled. He completed his 2.5-year culinary program in 8 months and began working in 2-star Michelin restaurants as a savory cook and eventually went into pastry. It was at one of these restaurants that he met an American chef that brought him to the states. Jean Francois worked at some very high-end restaurants made the ten best pastry chefs in America twice, with his last restaurant being Daniel. It was while I was the executive pastry chef at Mandarin Oriental and JF executive pastry chef at restaurant Daniel that we met; 11 months later, we were married. In 2016 JF and I bought a cabin in Margaretville. While visiting Main St., We happened upon a chocolate shop (JF is now part-owner of Brooklyn Born Chocolate). We fell in love with the shop, and When we walked out, we made a pact, if the chocolate shop on Main St should close, we wanted the shop. Fast forward to May of 2020, we were driving by that little chocolate shop with the for rent sign outside, and the rest is history. What motivates us every day is the ability to create something that brings joy to others. We wake up every day to make others happy; their happiness brings us joy.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Our biggest accomplishment as business owners was actually to open! I have been talking about opening a cafe for the last 12 years, but because of my health issues and the cost of opening a shop in Brooklyn, I decided it would never happen.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
The hardest thing that comes with being a business owner for us is commuting back and forth from our city jobs and lives to our fun job at the cafe. The cafe gives us so much happiness; it’s not work even when we work 20 hours straight. We really love it! We love our employees that are family, our community, our town, our neighbors, and our customers.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Be prepared to work harder than you ever thought you would.
- Be humble.
- Be present and stick to your word.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.cafemarguerite.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CAFEMARGUERITENY/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cafemargueriteny
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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