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Petit Fours Patisserie & Café
Karen Lucas
By
Sue LaPointe |
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Handcrafted pastries. A Parisian café. A quaint,
covered patio. Although these may bring to mind a
European vacation, there is no plane ticket required
to experience them. Instead, a trip to Louisiana Avenue
in the heart of historic Perrysburg reveals Petit
Fours Patisserie & Café—the creation
of area resident Karen Lucas.
Although Karen has had a life-long interest in food,
her career path took her through many different experiences
and jobs prior to her opening Petit Fours. In fact,
Karen’s life seems to be coming full circle,
as she is living out one of her life’s dreams
by creating Petit Fours.
After receiving a degree in business with an emphasis
in marketing at Ohio State University in 1975, Karen
landed a job as one of the first female sales representatives
with Libbey Owens Ford Company, based first in Memphis,
then in New Orleans. Karen said during that time—the
mid-1970s— a female sales representative, especially
in the South, was a real novelty. Libbey Owens Ford
(LOF) was one of Toledo’s Fortune 500 companies
at that time and was in its glory days with many exciting
products and a strong national sales presence. “Working
for LOF was a wonderful experience. The people in
the glass industry treated me very well. I learned
a great deal about good management and sales practices
as well as the importance of building and maintaining
key relationships that have stayed with me my entire
career. A real bonus was that I traveled a great deal
and got to know great Southern cuisine first hand.”
Karen still rates the food and pastries she experienced
in New Orleans as some the best she’s ever had
anywhere in the world.
It was a marriage to a local attorney that brought
Karen back to the Toledo area. At that time, the country
was in an economic recession and the glass industry
was pretty hard hit, so Karen decided to actively
explore the food and hospitability industry for career
prospects. Home expert Martha Stewart had just come
on the national scene and was doing things in a whole
new way that really inspired many women, including
Karen, to seriously think about creating food businesses.
She was lucky to find three other inspired women who
had just founded Lady Fingers. Karen was their first
hire, and she cooked for their café and catering
business for three years. “It was a wonderful
time in my life; these women were so talented and
I learned so much and had so much fun.” As much
as Karen loved the creative outlet the work provided,
however, it wasn’t something she could afford
to do long term. The work combined long hours with
low wages and no benefits provided. So Karen felt
the need to look for a job that used her business
skills and would provide her with a secure financial
base for the future.
“I was invited to work for the United Way of
Greater Toledo, which was the beginning of an exciting
20-year career in marketing and development for area
non-profits,” recalls Karen. She spent almost
a decade with the United Way as the vice president
of resource and development, and was responsible for
raising almost $14 million annually to support health
and human service needs in the community. Then, Karen
spent five years as part of the development staff
at Bowling Green State University, with an emphasis
on corporate and foundation relations. In 1998, The
Toledo Museum of Art recruited Karen to head its development
program and upcoming capital campaign. In three years,
Karen helped the museum raise $60 million for new
capital projects and at the same time doubled its
annual contributions.
“But at the end of the museum’s campaign,
I felt I had really done everything I wanted to do
in the development field. I was very proud of what
I had been able to achieve and had made friends with
so many wonderful donors, volunteers and colleagues.
However, I knew it was the right time in my life for
a new challenge, and I spent a great deal of time
thoughtfully considering what it was I wanted to do.
I knew I didn’t want to wake up in 20 years
and wish I had done something I was really passionate
about but afraid to try.”
When Karen opened the doors to Petit Fours Patisserie
& Café in March 2006, it was after three
years of identifying what she truly wanted to do and
how best to achieve that goal. As she shaped her ideas,
Karen worked with a bakery consultant out of Boston
who helped her develop a business plan. Karen traveled
to both east and west coasts of the United States,
as well as Europe, visiting more than 200 bakeries
and small cafes, looking at their operations and product
offerings. She signed up for a professional baking
program, capped off with a week-long focused cake
class at the prestigious Culinary Institute in Hyde
Park, New York. At the same time, she leased a professional
bakery space at the Oliver House complex in downtown
Toledo, to try her hand at product development, production
and sales to see if she felt she could develop a business
and, more importantly, to see if she liked doing it.
Karen discovered that she liked the challenge of creating
a viable small business that would provide the creative
outlet desired. Focusing on menu items made from scratch
with fresh seasonal ingredients, Petit Fours opened
to four-star reviews. Featuring classic recipes with
contemporary interpretations in its café and
patisserie, menu items range from pastries to gourmet
sandwiches to homemade soups to the ever-popular cupcake.
Petit Fours is similar in feel and quality to the
cafes and bakeries Karen visited in her travels. The
ambiance is reminiscent of another world, with a beautifully
designed interior and patio, combined with the aromas
that take patrons right to a chic Parisian café.
Petit Fours’ tag line sums it up: Chic. Simple.
Delicious.
“People are so effusive with their comments
and praise about the look we’ve created and
the food and pastries we serve,” said Karen.
“I am truly honored to receive this kind feedback.
It certainly makes you feel you are on the right track.
We have met so many wonderful people through the shop.
We know almost everyone by name or face which makes
it really enjoyable.”
According to Karen, the biggest challenge she faces
with the café is the fact that it’s located
in the Midwest, and the competition from big national
franchises. “Realistically, here in the greater
Toledo area we don’t have the density of population
or sophistication to easily support this type of concept.
People who happen by the café from New York,
Washington, Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco are
all over look, the food and the feel. They get it
immediately. In fact Petit Fours, was recently the
muse for two designers who graphically recreated the
café for an Arts Commission project for the
Huron Building in downtown Toledo. They titled the
project Imagine This, stating that they envisioned
having a shop just like Petit Fours in the empty space
they were decorating.
“I think it’s a shame our society seems
to value having everything taste and look the same,
with none of it made from fresh local ingredients.
I think it’s critically important that we begin
to treasure and support our locally owned enterprises
because they are what makes each community special
and provides uniqueness, charm, flavor and character.
Small business like mine will only exist to the extent
that the local community values and supports it.”
Karen hopes people will begin to consider enterprises
like Petit Fours as community treasures and think
twice before they spend their food dollars.
PETIT FOURS PATISSERIE &
CAFE
Karen Lucas
219 Louisiana Avenue
Perrysburg, Ohio 43551
Phone: 419-872-8510
Website: www.petitfourpastries.com
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