Chez Francois Poutinerie Opens Hearts, Doors To Special Needs Workers

NAPERVILLE, IL — Thi Tram Nguyen is no stranger to thriving in spite of adversity, and it’s this bright and brave spirit that imbues Nguyen’s work to empower special needs employees at her new restaurant, Chez Francois Poutinerie, in downtown Naperville.

Nguyen, who fled war-torn Vietnam by boat when she was just 8 years old, eventually found refuge in Canada, where she fell in love with the comfort food poutine. Her Canadian upbringing, coupled with her love of her son, Francois, 17, who has autism, inspired Nguyen to open Chez Francois Poutinerie to bring a brighter future to young adults with special needs.

Nguyen said she has had anxiety about Francois’s future as he begins to age out of the school system. “What am I going to do when he reaches 22 years old?” she said.”I don’t want him to stay at home and do nothing.”

Francois is verbal, but he is unable to communicate, Nguyen explained. She acknowledges that many other parents of special needs children likely wrestle with these same worries, so she chose to do what she could to create more opportunities in the work force.

“I’m going to try to create a business, so he can have a job,” she told Patch. “I’m not just doing it for Francois. I’m doing it for all the population like him who will not be able to find a job.”

Most business owners don’t currently have the tools or skills to work with employees who have special needs, Nguyen explained. “I’m going to train them in the real world,” she said.

Opening Hearts, Opening Doors

Nguyen told Patch individuals with special needs are more than eager to learn new tasks, meet and help customers and join the workforce. Shortly after she opened up employment applications for Chez Francois Poutinerie, Nguyen was overwhelmed by an influx of applications.

It totals she brought on 80 employees with special needs, each of whom began with a job coach, who will help them learn the ropes of their job, whether it’s customer-facing or in the back of the house.

There was no shortage of people who volunteered to work as job coaches, either, Nguyen said. Retired teachers, community members, students and parents all stepped up to lend a hand to the employees.

Once they complete job training, staff members at Chez Francois receive a certificate and will be officially hired at $15 an hour, or will receive help finding employment elsewhere.

“When you ask why it’s important for them to have a job, special needs people have the same answer as everyone,” Nguyen said.

She said one applicant told her, “I want to work because I want to make friends.” Another applicant with a 3.7 GPA told Nguyen, “I applied everywhere and nobody wants to hire me.”

“They want to have a purpose to wake up in the morning to come and work and be happy and talk to people and meet people,” she said. “That, for me, has meant everything, and that is something that nobody sees from the outside.”

For the Love of Poutine

For Nguyen, poutine is the perfect comfort food to bring together community members, and a dish she longed to bring to her beloved Naperville. “Food is my passion; poutine is my passion,” she told Patch.

Nguyen, who grew up on Vietnamese cuisine at home, said she first tried poutine when she was in college after a late night of going dancing with friends.

“The first time I ate that, I was like [Oh my God!] this is heaven…heaven,” she said.

In Canada, poutine was a part of every day life, Nguyen explained. It’s even served at McDonald’s and Costco.

“On your first date, you take her for poutine. Your boyfriend dumps you; you get poutine. You get pregnant; you go get poutine,” Nguyen told Patch.

The menu at Chez Francois Poutinerie features an array of variations on the classic dish, which typically features french fries topped with gravy and cheese curds. At Chez Francois, the ingredients are never frozen, and the recipe draws inspiration from one her husband’s grandmother perfected.

Nguyen said the key to capturing the true essence of poutine involves getting the perfect cheese curds. She told Patch she and her husband tried 30 different types of cheese curds before deciding to source theirs from a family-owned farm in Wisconsin.

Diners can dig into the Montreal, which is traditional poutine or opt for a more inventive twist, including options that come piled high with sliced pork belly and maple syrup or sausage, bacon and jalapeño peppers.

Vegetarians can opt for a poutine made with gravy that is veg-friendly.

No Risk, No Reward

Nguyen told Patch Francois has been thrilled to be involved with the restaurant’s opening and that she’s enjoyed seeing him and the other employees come into their own over the past several months.

Nguyen said she has encountered doubt from people who are worried about the potential risk of a business that involves so many special needs employees. Those concerns don’t faze her when she sees the difference Chez Francois Poutinerie is making.

“We took our life savings to build that business,” Nguyen said, explaining that she did not use government loans or fundraising, as they wanted to open quickly.

“I want people to see how the special needs [individuals] can be part of the community and how they are good at work,” she said.

For a woman who risked her life to flee Vietnam as a child, the reward of Chez Francois Poutinerie’s impact far outweighs any monetary risk.

“I’ve already lost everything, and I’ve rebuilt everything,” Nguyen said

“People say, ‘you’re risking everything,'” she added. “If I fail; it’s just money. But if I don’t try, I will regret it for the rest of my life.”

Chez Francois Poutinerie is now open at 22 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville. The restaurant is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.