Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Enzo & Matilda Lucas. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Enzo & Matilda with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
The work ethic surrounding baking and business ownership began three generations ago with our grandpa. Soon after the birth of his 5th child, he became a single parents and tasked with running a full time bakery and raising all of his children on his own. The boulangerie quickly became a family affair and our dad, Claude, at the age of four began helping around the bakery shop. Over the years early mornings and long hours, he developed a strong passion for the trade. He craved to learn as much as he could about baking, eventually leaving his hometown to work in various bakeries in Paris.
Claude also had a passion for traveling and while on his way to India, he met his wife who brought him to Key West, Florida. He began with very little money but his drive and refusal to accept failure, allowed him finally be able to realize his dream of owning his very own bakery. Over the years he sold and reopened several bakeries around the world before finally settling with his family in Fort Collins, CO.
My sister and I have watched our parents give it their all to make their concept succeed, despite all the challenges that come with starting any business. We have early memories of our dad being gone before we even were awake from school and coming home right before dinner. As we got older, we began to recognize the immense sacrifice and hard work it took to build a business. We can never thank them enough for all that they did for us.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
We are La Creperie & French Bakery of Fort Collins. Started in 2009 by our parents, Claude & Carole Lucas. Similarly to our father, we grew up around the bakery and overtime we naturally became a part of it. Our goal is to continue our grandfather’s authentic French recipes, while incorporating innovative new ideas. Our brand is old French bistro-style with our walls full of paintings done by our parents and photographers of Brittany, France (Claude’s hometown and birthplace of crepes). Our father introduced traditional pastries such as Kouign Amann pastry, which is a butter cake with a caramelized sugar exterior. from his home town. We never want to lose that authenticity and always strive to maintain that high quality our parents started. However, we continue to be inspired by the latest trends that we see going on around the world and are always open to trying new ideas to bring to the bakery.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1) Work ethic: No substitute for hard work
2) Don’t be afraid to fail: You will make errors and learning how to move forward from them is important. Never give up.
3) Surround yourself with the right people: You can’t teach people to care but when you find those people, treat them well because they’re imperative to your success.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
Given that our parents are now retired and we have stepped into a leadership role, we have really focused on modernizing the logistics of the operation. After over 15 years of business, we finally accept all credit/debit cards as a method of payment. Previously, we had the old school clock in system as well as our physical paychecks. When we upgraded our POS system that enabled our employees to clock in and track all their ours digitally and for us to send direct deposits to all our employees as well. Within the last few weeks we partnered with Doordash to offer our bakery selection to be delivered all over town. Overall we hope to continue to grow and continue making those improvements to the business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fortcollinscreperiebakery.com/
- Instagram: lacreperiefoco
Image Credits
N/a
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