In 2006, brothers Noor and Habib Akbari moved from Afghanistan to Canada with their families. They had just $500 to their names, they recall. Today, they run a breakfast chain with 22 restaurants in Quebec and Ontario, and four more under construction.
“It all started within our community, with having good mentors,” says Noor, who explains the network they built through the Ismaili community helped prepare them to start a business.
When the brothers first arrived in Canada, they took jobs at a breakfast restaurant in Sherbrooke. The pair were unlikely restaurateurs. Noor did not know how to crack eggs onto the griddle on his first day at work. A patient manager showed him how, and the restaurant soon provided a channel for the brothers’ entrepreneurial dreams. Over the next seven years, Noor and Habib ran and purchased nine franchises through the chain’s buy-back program.
In 2014, wanting to meet other Ismaili entrepreneurs and gain more business knowledge, Noor attended a conference in Vancouver organized by Alliances Canada, which unites Ismaili professionals and entrepreneurs. “My brother was in full force when he came back from Vancouver,” recalls Habib, explaining how inspired Noor was after meeting other Ismaili entrepreneurs. For a while, the two had dreamed of starting a business to help integrate immigrants, including Afghans, within the Quebec Ismaili community. The conference motivated them to begin laying plans for Coco Frutti.
The brothers set out to create a breakfast chain focussed on fresh food, courteous service and a welcoming environment. Staying true to their original vision of providing opportunities for Ismailis, they found restaurant operators from within the community. Each of Coco Frutti’s chain operators begins by working in the kitchen.
“A concept means nothing if you don’t have a good operator,” says Habib.
The brothers say the Ismaili community played a key role in helping them establish the business. When the bank wouldn’t provide a loan early on, a member of the Ismaili community helped them secure funds to open their first four locations. When they needed business advice, Ismaili entrepreneurs lent time and guidance.
The brothers have persevered through ups and downs, trusting in their vision after a business partner backed out due to a cancer diagnosis, and in the face of COVID-19. In March 2020, the pandemic prevented two new locations from opening and complicated daily operations for existing Coco Frutti restaurants. In response, the brothers mandated PPE and social distancing measures. They also sought to keep their team motivated through virtual conferences and food deliveries. Although Noor and Habib know they will continue to face challenges as Coco Frutti grows, they are confident that, with the support and advice of their mentors, Coco Frutti can go further. “We knew [growing a business] wouldn’t be easy,” Noor says. “We learned you need to work hard and go for it, not just dream about it.”
