My Biz: restaurant serves food with French flair

Isabelle Cummings grew up in France. But it's her American-born husband, Ian, who prepares the tasty items sold at their shop, Croissant du Jour.

Ian discovered his love of French cuisine while working at a French restaurant in Illinois when he was in high school. He enjoyed the experience so much that he decided to travel to France - to Vichy specifically - to learn more about French cuisine.

He met Isabelle while working in a pastry shop there, and they married before returning to the United States.

At that time, in 2004, their two children were in elementary school and the Cummings knew they didn't want to have a dinner restaurant.

“We'd never get to see our kids or they'd grow up literally in the restaurant,” Ian said.

“For the French, all being together at the dinner table is a big thing,” Isabelle added.

So they landed on the idea of a French bakery. Fearing that a bakery alone might not sustain itself, they decided they'd serve lunch, too.

“We knew we'd have to do lunch, but for the first month we only did pastries,” Isabelle recalled.

They started by serving quiche at lunch, and it remains their most popular lunch menu item. Today customers can choose from a selection of soups, salads, sandwiches and quiche.

Croissant du Jour definitely has its regulars.

“We have about 8 to 10 couples that come every day,” Isabelle noted. “We actually have one couple that comes twice a day.”

Selling only fresh pastries requires Ian to start baking at 3:30 a.m. He spends between 7 and 11 a.m. prepping for lunch.

And at the Cummings' restaurant, the early bird gets the, err, croissant.

“I'd rather make less and run out than sell day-old products,” Ian said. “We make everything fresh every day. If we run out, we run out.”

Names: Ian and Isabelle Cummings

Title: Owners

Company: Croissant du Jour

Address: 3531 Mount Vernon Rd. SE, Cedar Rapids

Phone: (319) 363-7767

Website: http://croissantdujour.biz

Know a manager or company that's been in business for at least a year that should be considered for “My Biz”? Contact business editor Michael Chevy Castranova at michael.castranova@sourcemedia.net.