By ANDREW WAREING
Julie Généreux and Jocelyne Malo were working feverishly in January to complete renovations and add the finishing touches to their new restaurant, The Lunch Box, for an official opening Jan.12.
Généreux and Malo completed a young entrepreneurs program through the Timmins Venture Centre, learning the intricacies of business ownership, from business plan development to funding.
With help - mostly sweat equity - from friends and loved ones, and a small loan from the Venture Centre, they have managed to renovate the restaurant on their own.
Their long-term plan includes catering, but they plan to build slowly on each success.
Initially the two had looked at developing a business idea around the arts, but after having taken stock of their assets, they determined the hospitality industry was best-suited for them both, says Généreux.
“I wanted a hobby shop, ( Malo wanted to have an artist’s shop) and when we put together our idea, we thought we could partner up,” says Généreux.
“After we developed our first business plan, we realized this was not something we were going to be able to do. We looked at our business plan and
realized this wasn’t going to do much for us. We realized, with our experience working in restaurants, that was something we could do.”
