Today we’d like to introduce you to Imad Nabwani.
Imad, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Following in my father’s lawyer footsteps back in my native Syria wasn’t a career for me. I fell in love with French gastronomy and hospitality as a young man working in Parisian hotels. I moved to Canada in the 90s and started earning a living as a waiter. I progressed quickly through the ranks and became vice president of a group operating Montreal’s highest-grossing restaurants. In 2011, I decided to fulfill my French dream and acquired the struggling Parisian brasserie, Le Pois Penché, in downtown Montreal (LePoisPenche.com). Today, after much hard work and a bit of fortune, it has become one of the city’s top restaurants and a great source of pride for me and my family. We have also launched Tropé, a new juice & smoothie bar concept with two downtown locations (tropevie.com). We will open a modern steakhouse in a historical building in the spring of 2024.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
If there has ever been a smooth road, I’d like to see it! Le Pois Penché was a hard bet. The restaurant had been underperforming when I bought it in 2011, but I felt it could do much better if given enough love and attention. Naively, I didn’t know (or didn’t want to know) that rebuilding a restaurant with an average reputation and getting guests to trust us and rediscover it is possibly the hardest thing we can do in the industry. Me and my team didn’t change the name or the decor. We put our heads down and began improving the basics little by little: food and hospitality. The business lost money for a while, but we finally balanced the books. We have been profitable for many years, and our reputation keeps getting better. Running a restaurant comes with its share of daily challenges, but knowing that loyal customers value what we do and thank us for it is the greatest feeling. My motto was and remains, “Don’t reinvent the wheel. Master it.”
As you know, we’re big fans of Golden Square Mile Hospitality. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Established in 2011, Golden Square Mile Hospitality (GSMH) owns and operates the landmark Parisian brasserie, Le Pois Penché, and Tropé Juice & Snackbar in Montreal’s famous Golden Square Mile neighborhood. Our portfolio includes concept development, management, and consulting mandates for Henri Brasserie Française at the 5-star Hotel Birks and Hôtel Le St-Martin.
GSMH brings vitality to high-traffic urban and downtown destinations by introducing the “brasserie lifestyle” to the landscape. Inspired by iconic French brasseries, our restaurant concepts merge outstanding hospitality, exquisite cuisine, inviting design, and solid management practices to create social hubs where luxury and casualness coexist. We embrace a culture of “legendary hospitality”, in which the success of our organization stems from caring employees who create happiness for our guests, generous community engagement, supplier relationships built on trust, and, ultimately, healthy returns for our investors.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The good news is that artificial intelligence will never operate a restaurant without humans! We feel that this old profession is perfectly positioned for a future where more and more people will need human connection. Restaurants used to be a luxury. Our parents only went to restaurants on very special occasions. Then, we reached the point where restaurants became so accessible that many people started eating out every day. Restaurants brought prices down and shrunk their margins to attract guests. In the process, they neglected the basic financial principles of the business. Customers don’t see it, but having an army of chefs and waiters prepare and serve food in a nice setting is brutally expensive. We see an industry readjustment whereby restauranteurs will start charging reasonable prices to operate their establishments without risk, pay fair wages, and make a decent living in the process. No one wants to invest millions in a nice restaurant to work for landlords and the government. Prosperity is a fair expectation. Contrary to popular belief, restaurants are not riskier than other industries, like tech, for as long as restauranteurs master every aspect of their businesses and charge the prices they need to succeed and last. Our restaurants don’t exist to satisfy hunger but to provide escapist entertainment through food.
Contact Info:
- Website: gsmh.ca, LePoisPenche.com, TropeVie.com
- Instagram: Le Pois Penché; https://www.instagram.com/lepoispenche/
Tropé jus & snack-bar: https://www.instagram.com/trope.mtl/?hl=en - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LePoisPenche/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/18738891/admin/feed/posts/
