Sormonte owns Maman Café, which he opened in September with fellow entrepreneur Armand Arnal. The menu of the café/bakery in Manhattan evokes tastes of France — Sormonte’s native country.
Concordians in the Big Apple can join Sormonte and listen to his entrepreneurial insight at a cocktail on December 2. The gathering at the café is a chapter event organized by Concordia’s Advancement and Alumni Relations.
“I’ll talk about what’s required on a day-to-day basis,” says Sormonte. “People don’t usually see what happens behind the scenes — they only see the finished product.”
Maman Café is Sormonte’s first independent project. He has opened and managed three restaurants for Experimental Group — a company that owns over a dozen restaurants in Europe and North America.
Sormonte explains that he switched careers to follow his dream. He left a full-time job as a corporate lawyer at firm Stikeman Elliott in London, U.K., in 2012.
“I had the opportunity to pursue my passion for the restaurant business — so I took it,” says Sormonte on the decision.
The first establishment he opened with Experimental Group was in Ibiza, Spain. Within six months, he turned a $1 million investment into $1.6 million in sales.
“My business partners, including Armand, really wanted to establish something in New York,” says Sormonte of what led him to Manhattan.
Sormonte is managing Experimental Cocktail Club and has opened La Compagine, the latter in the city’s trendy Soho neighbourhood.
“My background gave me the skills and expertise I needed to succeed,” says Sormonte of his experience, including at Concordia’s John Molson School of Business.
On the benefit of such an alumni event, Sormonte notes: “For those in the area who might be considering entrepreneurial activities, this could be a push to follow their business interests.”
Sormonte explains another aspect of Concordia’s get-together: “To have fun! There will be networking opportunities and a chance to make friends and reconnect.”