Interview with Chris Ann Nakis
Chris-Ann Nakis, 48 years old, barely breaks the 5’2” mark. She is petite, but what she lacks in size, she makes up in volume of hair, which she explains she straightens only in the winter. The summer humidity is too much of a hassle for her.
Though small in stature, the respect she commands within the male dominated restaurant industry is overwhelmingly large.
As a recent inductee into the Who’s Who volume of 2005, Nakis solidifies her position in the Montreal community as the savvy businesswomen she’s always dreamt of being.
Modest by nature, and overwhelmingly busy by trade, sitting down for an interview with her was a production in itself.
Nakis invited me to her home for this interview. But that’s not unusual. She is renown for opening up her home to staff whenever and for whatever
She is equally feared and loved by her restaurant employees. She is both generous and fair, but as one employee said to me “Don’t cross her, whatever you do Steph don’t ever cross her”.
Her home in the Town of Mount Royal is of the standard layout found in that area. Large, open, and right out of the 1970’s. When I visited, there were three different renovation projects going on at the same time; the kitchen, the living room, and the alarm system. The alarm technician tried to pull a fast one. Nakis put him in his place quickly and efficiently.
The only daughter of a third generation Greek Family, Nakis says she always knew she wanted to be in the restaurant business. She describes restaurants as “an endless tunnel of creativity in any direction”.
Her grandfather came to Montreal in 1917, and after working in the shipping business, he decided to open the Cherrier Tea Room, which is still exists on St-Denis.
Her father, Paul Nakis, was one of six children. He carried the restaurant torch, and at fourteen years old was running Paul’s Sandwich Shop.
In 1953 Paul Nakis and his two brothers owned and operated the O-Select. A true family restaurant of the 50’s complete with milkshakes, juke boxes and club sandwiches, which his daughter proudly describes as “one of the better restaurants in the East End at the time”.
With two generations of restaurant operation behind her, Nakis knew this was the business for her. Though she flirted with the idea of journalism or even theatre, it was business that kept coming back to her. “ I always had the ambition to work for my father” she says “I wanted to take over his company and have a building that said Nakis on the side.”
Nakis now owns two Baton Rouges. The first one is in Complex Desjardins in front of Place Des Arts. She has almost doubled the sales in the five years since she has owned it. Ask her about her success, and she becomes humbled and shy. She accepts that her experience has something to do with it, but she truly gives the success of the restaurant over to the staff, the location, and the name Baton Rouge.
“I wouldn’t have invested in any other franchise” she says. Baton Rouge is the most successful franchise in North America right now, and that is what prompted the decision to go the franchise route and not with an independent restaurant. “I didn’t need the umbrella support of a franchise, I believed in Baton Rouge’s concept, and I am proud to be part of their family”.
Fifteen months ago Nakis bought a second Baton Rouge. This time in front of the Bell Center, where Moe’s restaurant used to be. “When I made a bid for the location a lot of people said Moe’s didn’t make it, what do you think you’re going to do?” But make it she did, despite the horribly bad timing of the hockey strike just months after the restaurant opened.
Her father still plays an important role in her life. He is often seen at both restaurants counseling his daughter. “We’re always talking business, we’ll talk business before family” she says. Her relationship with her father hasn’t always been easy but it’s always been supportive. “My father was and is a restauranteur, and he didn’t always have time to help me, but he always directed me to someone who could.”
Coming from a Greek family with a brother, one would expect the son to carry on the family business. When asked about this, Nakis becomes defensive and describes Greek men as “weak bowls of jell-o” who’ve been pampered and taken care of their whole life. “It’s often the Greek girls with stronger personalities, and the men can scream, slam their hand down, and pretend they are saying something important, but they are just ignored.”
Nakis describes her restaurants as her home, and when a client sits down to a meal, they are visiting her home, and so are treated with the hospitality and caring that one would expect when visiting a good friend.
Listen to Nakis in a staff meeting before a busy night and that is exactly what she tries to impart on her staff. She has no time to be boggled down by details, “if a client wants a Bloody Caesar made half with tomato juice, half with Clamato juice, and a jumbo shrimp on the side, so be it” she says, “I am here to give you the best steak you have ever tasted,
and if it’s not and we’ll change it, I’m here to make sure you have a good time”.
She is a woman who works twelve-hour days, somehow found time to raise a daughter, and be married twice. She owns her own home, and a sporty car. By all modern standards she is a success.
I ask her is she’s happy, if the dream of her younger self has come true? Nakis takes a deep breath, and slumps in her chair; “I like what I do, but sometimes you have to sacrifice your life to meet your goals.”
Though small in stature, the respect she commands within the male dominated restaurant industry is overwhelmingly large.
As a recent inductee into the Who’s Who volume of 2005, Nakis solidifies her position in the Montreal community as the savvy businesswomen she’s always dreamt of being.
Modest by nature, and overwhelmingly busy by trade, sitting down for an interview with her was a production in itself.
Nakis invited me to her home for this interview. But that’s not unusual. She is renown for opening up her home to staff whenever and for whatever
She is equally feared and loved by her restaurant employees. She is both generous and fair, but as one employee said to me “Don’t cross her, whatever you do Steph don’t ever cross her”.
Her home in the Town of Mount Royal is of the standard layout found in that area. Large, open, and right out of the 1970’s. When I visited, there were three different renovation projects going on at the same time; the kitchen, the living room, and the alarm system. The alarm technician tried to pull a fast one. Nakis put him in his place quickly and efficiently.
The only daughter of a third generation Greek Family, Nakis says she always knew she wanted to be in the restaurant business. She describes restaurants as “an endless tunnel of creativity in any direction”.
Her grandfather came to Montreal in 1917, and after working in the shipping business, he decided to open the Cherrier Tea Room, which is still exists on St-Denis.
Her father, Paul Nakis, was one of six children. He carried the restaurant torch, and at fourteen years old was running Paul’s Sandwich Shop.
In 1953 Paul Nakis and his two brothers owned and operated the O-Select. A true family restaurant of the 50’s complete with milkshakes, juke boxes and club sandwiches, which his daughter proudly describes as “one of the better restaurants in the East End at the time”.
With two generations of restaurant operation behind her, Nakis knew this was the business for her. Though she flirted with the idea of journalism or even theatre, it was business that kept coming back to her. “ I always had the ambition to work for my father” she says “I wanted to take over his company and have a building that said Nakis on the side.”
Nakis now owns two Baton Rouges. The first one is in Complex Desjardins in front of Place Des Arts. She has almost doubled the sales in the five years since she has owned it. Ask her about her success, and she becomes humbled and shy. She accepts that her experience has something to do with it, but she truly gives the success of the restaurant over to the staff, the location, and the name Baton Rouge.
“I wouldn’t have invested in any other franchise” she says. Baton Rouge is the most successful franchise in North America right now, and that is what prompted the decision to go the franchise route and not with an independent restaurant. “I didn’t need the umbrella support of a franchise, I believed in Baton Rouge’s concept, and I am proud to be part of their family”.
Fifteen months ago Nakis bought a second Baton Rouge. This time in front of the Bell Center, where Moe’s restaurant used to be. “When I made a bid for the location a lot of people said Moe’s didn’t make it, what do you think you’re going to do?” But make it she did, despite the horribly bad timing of the hockey strike just months after the restaurant opened.
Her father still plays an important role in her life. He is often seen at both restaurants counseling his daughter. “We’re always talking business, we’ll talk business before family” she says. Her relationship with her father hasn’t always been easy but it’s always been supportive. “My father was and is a restauranteur, and he didn’t always have time to help me, but he always directed me to someone who could.”
Coming from a Greek family with a brother, one would expect the son to carry on the family business. When asked about this, Nakis becomes defensive and describes Greek men as “weak bowls of jell-o” who’ve been pampered and taken care of their whole life. “It’s often the Greek girls with stronger personalities, and the men can scream, slam their hand down, and pretend they are saying something important, but they are just ignored.”
Nakis describes her restaurants as her home, and when a client sits down to a meal, they are visiting her home, and so are treated with the hospitality and caring that one would expect when visiting a good friend.
Listen to Nakis in a staff meeting before a busy night and that is exactly what she tries to impart on her staff. She has no time to be boggled down by details, “if a client wants a Bloody Caesar made half with tomato juice, half with Clamato juice, and a jumbo shrimp on the side, so be it” she says, “I am here to give you the best steak you have ever tasted,
and if it’s not and we’ll change it, I’m here to make sure you have a good time”.
She is a woman who works twelve-hour days, somehow found time to raise a daughter, and be married twice. She owns her own home, and a sporty car. By all modern standards she is a success.
I ask her is she’s happy, if the dream of her younger self has come true? Nakis takes a deep breath, and slumps in her chair; “I like what I do, but sometimes you have to sacrifice your life to meet your goals.”
posted by Steph Darwish at 1:17 AM
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