The founder of Cora Breakfast and Lunch paid a visit to Chatham on Wednesday to carry on a longtime company tradition, donating money to a local charity selected by the new franchisee.
Cora Tsouflidou's stop in Chatham marked the grand opening of her newest restaurant in Canada. The Chatham-Kent Hospice Foundation also received $2,688.
Tsouflidou told CK News Today it was great to see the restaurant packed with customers for the celebration.
"The franchisee and his family and the new staff, it was amazing and especially amazing because the store was completely full. Everybody came, the mayor," said Tsouflidou.
Tsouflidou said she's been attending restaurant grand openings since the very beginning because it's tradition.
"The Big Cheese goes to each opening because it's a tradition. The restaurant is so much my life, my sucess, I don't even take it like a duty, but a very great day to go to an opening of a restaurant," she added.
Tsouflidou said Chatham was picked because it met all of the criteria such as population and income thresholds.
The new restaurant is located at 595 St. Clair Street in Chatham and is the 37th Cora's in Ontario.
Cora's began in 1987 when Tsouflidou opened a snack bar in Montreal. She now has over 130 restaurants across Canada.