The Cozy Café in Hudson started out as a tiny one-room coffee shop whose entrance was essentially at the back end of an IGA supermarket.
The shop was only open for breakfast and pretty much just served up fare like scones and joe, but that changed when co-owner Jessika Ménard decided to expand, bringing in partner Christine Booth.
The two doubled the size of the shop, turned it into a full-service restaurant and got a liquor permit, and then scored a coup when mega-retailer Costco decided to carry their gift cards.
“It was a long process,” Ménard said. “They had to approve the restaurant. They had to come and eat here.”
The cards retail at two Costco locations — one in Vaudreuil and another in Pointe-Claire — for $80 apiece, good for $100 worth of offerings at any time at the restaurant.
Many of the restaurant’s patrons were surprised by the rapid changes.
“The space is so big now compared with the way that it was before,” said Debbie Luis, who was celebrating an anniversary there. “I don’t even remember the orientation now.”
Booth told Global News that the cards have been on sale for about a year and account for a revenue stream of about $20,000 so far.
As for what’s next? “You never know,” she said. “If we keep going, maybe you’ll see a Cozy in the West Island.”
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