Rigaud café creates job opportunities for people with disabilities
Comedian. Theatre director. Massage therapist. Festival organizer. Before opening the Au Croissant 21 café earlier this month, Bertin Savard had been involved in many interesting projects. But his latest venture is more than just a new business: it’s a labour of love.
Au Croissant 21, a small 30-seat eatery in Rigaud, is a father-andson business that aims to empower and employ people with disabilities.
Customers may come for the gourmet pastries, sandwiches, croissants, soups and locally roasted coffee, but the mission of the business is to raise awareness of the capabilities of people with disabilities, Savard said.
Savard’s 24-year-old son Jasmin has Down syndrome, which Savard said has limited his options for work. Starting the café was a way for Savard to provide his son with a job tailor-made for his abilities. For example, although Jasmin has difficulty walking at times, he is capable of cleaning and bussing tables on a variable schedule, working between 15 and 30 hours per week.
“It’s difficult to integrate people with disabilities in the jobs market. So I gathered all my energy, all my experience and I created a little croissant café so he could work,” Savard said. “I want to prioritize hiring people with disabilities. I don’t receive any subsidies, but I want to give them a real experience of work, to be a full-fledged citizen.”
Au Croissant 21 also employs a 14-year-old cashier with cerebral palsy who brings her service dog to work during her weekend shifts.
“She loves it, and it is doing her a lot of good,” Savard said. “Her mother told me, ‘You have no idea what you’re offering her. Finally, she is able to work.’ ”
The name of the café is a reference to Down syndrome, said Savard. People typically have 23 chromosomal pairs, but in people with Down syndrome, there are extra copies of the 21st chromosome.
Savard said word of the café’s mission to create employment opportunities for people with disabilities spread quickly on Facebook, drawing customers from well beyond the neighbourhood.
The café only opened a couple of weeks ago, but already Savard has had customers travel from as far as Pointe-Claire, as well as some Ontario border towns, to wish him luck on the new venture.
“I’m running low on stock,” Savard said. “I have good products, and the mission that I’ve given to my business has given me a lot of sympathetic capital.”
Although the café is currently run with a small staff, Savard hopes to hire more people with disabilities as the business grows. He’s already dreaming of expanding into an adjacent space, and is working on plans for more business projects designed to provide social integration opportunities for his son and others like him.
Au Croissant 21 is located at 133 A rue St-Pierre. For more information, visit aucroissant21.com or call 514-442-9969.