This is Julie Anna Pilote.
Julie Anna is 25 years old and co-owner of Restaurant Pigor in Verdun. She opened her restaurant with her younger sister Laurence Pilote , when they were respectively 22 and 21 years old. This already gives you an idea of the person you are about to meet.
Julie Anna is a very energetic and ambitious person. When she was little, she dreamed to be an actress, then a psychologist and after that to own a restaurant. Now that she succeeded at opening her business, she wants to be a doctor and is starting university next semester. Least would be to say that when she has something on her mind, there is nothing to stop her.
Julie Anna started to work in the hospitality industry at McDonalds, where she even won the best employee of the month once and got a picture of herself with braces hung up on the wall. After that, at 17 years old, she was managing three Sushi Shops restaurants. She then worked in kitchens for a little while to eventually realize that as much as she liked cooking, she needed to do something a little more challenging. And that’s when she got into cocktails. She realized that she could continue to apply her cooking knowledge while doing much more volume more efficiently and that on top of it, she had a lot of fun doing it.
While most people end up working in this business “by accident”, Julie Anna knew she wanted to own a restaurant since she was young. At 16 years old, instead of entering Cégep, she chose to go study restaurant management at ITHQ. On her first class, the teacher told the group that most people present in the classroom will not end up working in this industry and that only 2% would actually open their own business. It was a challenge accepted.
Today, Julie Anna not only owns her restaurant but is also very present in the bartending community. She has a clear passion for people, whether it be the people she serves, the people she meets, the people she competes with at cocktail competitions, and even more. She loves connecting and learning from the ones who crosses her path, which makes her even more lovable and inspiring.
A little bit more about...
The three words that describe her best:
hyperactive / determined / unstoppable
One thing she has yet to do on her life bucket list:
Go to a nudist beach.
One thing she has done on her life bucket list:
Many things. She has a big life bucket list and every year she crosses a couple things on it. She did a marathon, she skied on the Alps, she touched an exotic animal, she opened a restaurant, and much more.
A fun fact about her:
She never wears matching socks.
The quality she likes most about an employee:
Someone that likes learning.
Her biggest strength at work:
She finds solutions for everything.
The advice she offers to future bar owners:
Be creative. In every aspect you can think of. And keep in mind that the encounters you make every day might not make sense right now, but might become very meaningful in the future.