Meet Olga J. Benoit | Owner & Chef

We had the good fortune of connecting with Olga J. Benoit and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Olga J., can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The idea of starting the restaurant was born from a desire to share a slice of my homeland with the world, while also providing for my family and building something that we could truly call our own. After spending over 15 years working in an automotive factory, I realized that despite learning a lot, I was never truly happy. I faced horrible supervisors, racism, and people telling me to go back to my country, insisting that I didn’t belong. But I never let those words stop me, because I had a family to support. Coming from Haiti, I’ve learned that words are the least of my worries.

What should our readers know about your business?
What sets Chez Olga apart from others is honestly our hearts. We try our hardest to make sure that when people enter into our doors that they feel loved and welcomed. Now don’t get me wrong everyone has a bad day or two, but if there’s one thing that I’ve learned over that last 14 years of Chez Olga being open is that food is medicine. I am most proud of and excited about the fact that we get to make people feel good everyday just with our food. I’ve seen customers come in after a long and hard day and walk in without a smile but leave with one. That to me is magic in itself.

Well, I got here today with the help of my family of course, but also alotttttt of hard work, longggg nights, arguments in the kitchen and lots of errors lol. It was nowhere near easy. Especially being a black woman, let alone a foreign black woman trying to get people to see your dream.

I had some people in my community calling me crazy, some people would say we would only last a year or 2. I overcame these challenges by just ignoring the noise. Because the ones who gets it get it and the ones who support you and see your vision will push you. The rest is just noise.

Along the way we as a business have learned how to create business that supports itself. We started with our own money after saving up because no bank wanted to take a chance on us to being self-sustainable. We also learned how to turn our No’s into Yes’s.

I want the world to know that we are the brand of a hard-working Haitian Immigrant family whose main goal is just to add a little bit more flavor into this world and in turn maybe even more smiles and less angry people. The world just needs a little more love and seasoning lol

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Food wise: Ju Sushi, Emonae Korean BBQ, LEOS, The Old Goat, Butchers Union

Drinks: Drip Drop, Buffalo Traders, Mammoth

Hangout: Wealthy Street/Easttown: All together is a great place to check out. Cute little boutiques, salons, tattoo shops, restaurants and etc.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My Daughter Dodlie Benoit

She is the heart and soul behind Chez Olga! She loves to joke that I dream up new ways to stress her out, but the truth is, A dream is just a dream with no execution. She literally made my dream come true.

She helped brainstorm the name, crafted our slogan, and handled the endless paperwork to get our catering company off the ground. She would stay up late nights in our tiny family kitchen to prepare meals for 200-300 guests.

From painting walls and fixing sinks to cooking, cleaning, hiring, firing, managing payroll, and making deliveries. My daughter literally does it all.

We often wonder how she manages everything so seamlessly, but she always does.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063538931857

Image Credits
All the photos’ names have been changed to the respective photographer that’s deserving of their credit. The 3 Artist are Dave Benoit, Arrae Creative & Michael Buck