The new owners of the Chez Ashton restaurants are thinking big.
• Also read: Ashton Leblond: Values before money
• Also read: The Chez Ashton chain was sold to the owners of Ti-Oui
Jean-Christophe Lirette and Émily Adam, who took over the chain four months ago, are considering opening stores outside the Quebec region but also outside the province.
“Our dream is for Ashton to become truly national. We have requests all over Canada, we have requests in the United States. We think the brand is pretty strong…” confirms Ms. Adam.
European countries have also shown interest in the channel.
“We have these dreams and I think we have the ambition of our dreams,” said Mr. Lirette.
But the two young entrepreneurs from Portneuf will initially focus on the Québec region, where new branches will be opened.
“First, we really want to consolidate the Quebec region. Secondly, get out of the border to really go to a more provincial level,” explains Jean-Christophe Lirette.
Note that previous owner, Ashton Leblond, opened two restaurants in the Montreal area in the 1980s, but they closed shortly thereafter.
Courtesy of Ashton
Ashton Emily Adam and Jean Christophe Lirette. The new owners
The new owners, who also own the Ti-Oui snack bar in Saint-Raymond, want to make the Ashton offer even more accessible, in particular through a delivery service.
“We’re analyzing how we’re going to do it, but people want delivery. We talk about it a lot, a lot,” emphasizes Ms. Adam.
A change in the image of gastronomy cannot be ruled out either.
“We work with a specialized company (…) We look at market trends. Now everything is on the table,” says Mr. Lirette.
But changing the poutine recipe or the menu is absolutely out of the question.
The Chez Ashton chain currently has 23 stores in the Quebec region.