Sweet Paris Crêperie & Café was founded in 2012 by the husband-and-wife team of Ivan and Allison Chavez. It has 17 locations in Texas, Miami, Minneapolis and Mexico.
After being without power for nearly a week as a result of Hurricane Beryl barreling through their home state of Texas, Edward Hymes Sr. and his family were back at it this week and busy preparing for opening the first of five Sweet Paris Crêperie & Café locations.
Their initial restaurant in Southlake, Texas, isn’t scheduled to open until the fall, but there is a lot to do beforehand. The family is overseeing the redesign of the existing restaurant space, hiring staff and getting the word out in the community to build excitement.
Fortunately for Hymes—the CEO of Eagle Point Lending, a private real estate lender in the Houston, San Antonio and Dallas markets—he has the assistance of his wife, Cynthia, an experienced restaurateur and caterer, and their son, Edward Jr., a first-time entrepreneur, to work through the steps required to open a restaurant.
“This really is a family business for us, with my wife providing the coaching on staff development and operations and helping get our son prepared to manage the store,” Hymes Sr. said. “Me? I’ll be running the back-of-the-house operations, driving store development and working with real estate brokers to find the perfect locations for our Sweet Paris Cafes.”
Edward Hymes Sr., center, along with his wife Cynthia and son Edward Jr., signed a five-unit development deal with Sweet Paris Crêperie & Café in their home state of Texas.
After 35 years in the corporate world, including stints as president and chief operating officer of Planet Fitness and president and CEO of Jiffy Lube International, Hymes said he was ready to make the transition to franchisee.
“One of my biggest takeaways from those experiences was getting to know the operational side of franchising and talking to and learning from the franchisees,” said Hymes, who also worked for Houston-based Shell, which owns Jiffy Lube, for 18 years. He started his career at Kmart Stores, where he worked his way up the ranks to regional manager.
“It was my interactions with franchisees that provided me the desire to branch out as an entrepreneur and do it on my own using the franchising model as our playbook,” Hymes said. “I’m super excited to see where this goes.”
Sweet Paris is excited to have the Hymes family bolster its presence in Texas, where the brand has the majority of its 17 cafes. The brand, which was founded in 2012 by the husband-and-wife team of Ivan and Allison Chavez and has been franchising since 2017, also has locations Miami, Minneapolis and Mexico with another 40 stores in various stages of development, according to a company spokesperson.
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In addition to the Hymes’ 2,600-square-foot Southlake location, they have four other cafes in various stages of development in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with their second location slated to open in 2025.
“With their vast experience operating restaurants and activating high-level business strategy, they are sure to build a legacy with this partnership,” Allison Chavez said in a statement about the Hymes family.
Cynthia Hymes, who is originally from Mexico and opened a taco-themed restaurant with her husband in the Houston area prior to raising four children, said they were fans of Sweet Paris long before they signed their franchise deal.
“I love it. My friends love it and even my kids and their friends find it to be their favorite spot to eat,” she said. “It appeals to a wide audience and I especially like that it caters to the new generations.”
She and her husband agreed the biggest challenge they face in launching their Sweet Paris business is managing costs during inflationary times. They also said it’s crucial they make the right hires and keep their employees engaged and motivated.
“We know from our previous experience that treating people the right way, caring about the, and providing them with the proper training are all keys to creating faithful employees,” Cynthia Hymes said. “You need to understand their needs, listen and communicate. Most of all, you have to have fun.”