Rita Haddid, opened her new vegan restaurant in Mississauga this past summer called Nourishmoi. The name, Nourishmoi means to simply nourish oneself. The story behind this restaurant name tracks back to 15 years when Rita decided to take action to live a healthier lifestyle. Her vegan restaurant reflects the passion and care she has for the health of herself and others. What started as simply sharing her food and recipes with others, has now turned into a storefront business in the Port Credit area of Mississauga!
Rita’s new vegan restaurant is located at 229 Lakeshore Road East and is accompanied by an open-patio. Rita has spent the last few months before her opening perfecting the atmosphere of her restaurant. The warm and trendy décor compliments Rita’s ever-growing extravagant menu. “The love and passion shows in my restaurant” describes Rita. Every item on her menu is made from scratch, including her burger patties, waffle batter, omelette batter, and even the sauces; everything is made in-house. Rita’s focus on a vegan lifestyle has also taken her across the globe, travelling to places such as Italy, India, Thailand, and Morocco to experience the food and culture. These experiences have brought a wealth of knowledge about nutrition and food culture. Rita hopes Nourishmoi can also resonate with her customers like restaurants have for herself.
Rita’s Story
Rita’s success in launching her new restaurant did not come easy. Her biggest challenge was figuring out the process of opening her business, from acquiring licenses to training employees, this was all new information.
After her friend referred her to the Mississauga Business Enterprise Centre (MBEC), she applied and got accepted into their Starter Company PLUS Program. One of Rita’s first tasks required her to write a business plan, which opened her eyes to the reality of starting her own business. Having to complete the market research, investigate her target audience, and consider the operational costs associated with a new storefront, Rita was determined to bring Nourishmoi to the streets of Mississauga. Rita was also a grant recipient of the program, which helped her with some of the initial start-up costs.
The support of the program and its mentors helped Rita to realize her dream of opening her vegan restaurant.
RITA OFFERS SOME ADVICE TO ASPIRING ENTREPRENEURS
- Be ready to be committed to the business – When you have your own business you have to put everything you have into it. This means to make sure you have the time and energy to invest because it is a lot of work.
- Stay humble – Success takes time and it is important to be grateful of how far you have come.
- Listen to your customers – Take anything your customers/clients say into consideration. Always be ready to make changes to accommodate to your customer. Take every feedback whether it’s a complaint, comment, or even a compliment and improve. Don’t take anything personally because listening to others is how you will grow your business.
With the recent launch, Rita has been very busy running her new restaurant and is appreciative by the response from her customers. She is focused on enhancing her menu and her services, and has bigger plans in the future to expand her business. Rita seeks to open more locations for Nourishmoi.
