The first Chez Cora restaurant
In May 1987, Cora bought a defunct snack bar on Cote-Vertu Road in the Ville Saint-Laurent district of Montreal and embarked on a venture that would take her further than she'd ever dreamed. After only a few months of operation, Cora, the kitchen magician, transformed the little snack bar into a whole new breakfast concept in Quebec, which specialized in fruit, cheese, cereal, omelettes, pancakes, and French toast.
Inspired by family traditions, customer requests and suggestions from her children, Cora created new breakfasts, which blended the best of traditional breakfasts with new health food trends. Cora improved upon her traditional breakfasts and conjured up more than 100 new ideas.
These inventive new breakfasts were complemented by a colourful, child-like illustration on the walls of her Cote-Vertu snack bar. This playful imagery later became her signature logo in restaurants throughout her future chain.
The little snack bar in Ville Saint-Laurent soon became such a huge success that Cora's children had to leave school to help her with her burgeoning business. After only a few months of operation, Chez Cora became the breakfast destination of choice.
The first Chez Cora restaurant
Her philosophy: “Ingredients and a service of the highest quality. Offer your clientele the best and they will come back. If we serve the best breakfasts in town, will they go elsewhere?” Cora wonders.
By then, word of mouth had turned Cora's into a popular breakfast spot and its reputation for inventive breakfasts soon exceeded its ability to serve the demand. The family decided that mom would open a second Cora's, while the children would manage the snack bar in Côte-Vertu. In February 1990, a second Cora's opened on St-Martin Blvd. in the Laval district of Montreal. The new restaurant generated a lot of press and confirmed the concept's success. A few months later, with the help of a former colleague, Cora opened a third restaurant that was three times bigger than the first two. That was quickly followed by five more restaurant openings. The Cora family of restaurants just kept getting bigger and better, especially with the addition of new business partners, which Cora's own family personally trained.
Here’s another new item on our website: a special club that helps you join friends and fans of Chez Cora! By registering to our Cora's Enthusiasts club, you’ll occasionally receive an email newsletter. We’ll stay in touch through the magic of the Internet!
Through our newsletter, you’ll be the first to know what’s coming up! You’ll also find recipes and other helpful items as well as games for children.
As a member, you’ll be invited to participate in contests and will have access to special promotions offered only to members.
The Cora's Enthusiasts club newsletter is free and requires no obligation on your part.
You can unsubscribe at anytime with a simple click..
To register as a Cora's Enthusiast
An Innovative Concept
A specialised breakfast restaurant, serving home-style gourmet breakfasts and healthy lunch meals. Open from 6:00 AM to 3:00 PM Monday to Saturday and from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Sunday. The chain is operated across Canada under the Chez Cora and Cora’s Breakfast and Lunch trademarks.
Respecting the founder's vision, the primary objective of the Cora franchises is to offer Cora's breakfasts:
- In as many places as possible
- As often as possible
- To as many customers as possible.
The company’s mission and vision were defined over 20 years ago. The products we offer our customers, our methods and tools are in constant evolution.
