Ramzi Kerouicha, 23, of Algerian origin, is proudly standing behind the counter at Smoothzi alongside his parents. He is wearing a hoodie with the logo of his establishment, featuring his own face.
It is on a Thursday afternoon that we meet the founder of the restaurant located in the Rivière-des-Prairies district. It is 3 pm, the neighborhood is peaceful, while spring sets in.
Inside the gourmet counter, a few regulars are sitting at the table and enjoying their dishes. The walls, decorated with paintings, make the space an unusual place.
In this welcoming atmosphere, the slender young man joins us to share his journey. With his sleeves still rolled up, Ramzi stands up straight. He is the kind of person who is naturally cheerful, but who gets serious when it comes to work. Comfortably seated in the restaurant's armchairs, we discover its history.
Camera: Adrien Gaertner, Editing: Julien Forest and Journalist: Jennifer Da Veiga Rocha
Difficult schooling
Owner of the restaurant since the age of 19, Ramzi did not receive financial assistance from his parents, nor did he follow a traditional academic path to success.
“I knew that the school system was — unfortunately or luckily — not made for me,” he shares, shrugging his shoulders. I didn't want to go to college or university.”
Very young, he has a difficult relationship with school where he has difficulty developing. Instead of attending classes studiously, he preferred to be entertained and quickly became the clown of his classmates.
“It cost me a lot because I repeated it twice,” he says. Nevertheless, the young man believes that this experience shaped him and prompted him to explore other paths. “I matured and then I found the one that suited me more: entrepreneurship,” he concludes with a clenched fist.
“Everything I do for myself, I also do for my parents”
In high school five, after a finance course on retirement, Ramzi comes home and discusses this subject with his parents. Her mother, a civil servant at the time, told her that she had not been able to prepare herself properly for this stage of life. The young man can't believe it.
“We have always been taught that you have to study for a long time, get a good job, contribute to a pension fund for forty years and then finally be able to rest! he exclaims. “But seeing the reality of retirement for my parents, I knew that this was not the path I wanted to follow.”
Ramzi then has two goals in mind: to ensure a financial future without taking the traditional path of studies, while guaranteeing financial security for his parents for years to come. “It's a race against time,” he says, tapping his index finger on his wrist. “They are nearing retirement and I want to make sure that everything is going well for them.”
In the same breath, he continues: “We never really talked about this, but we have already experienced the loss of our home. This is what motivates me to fight today, to avoid reliving this tragedy. What I do for myself, I also do for my parents,” he adds, before giving an awkward look.
“Even if we have little, in reality, we have a lot”
“My parents taught me to be happy with what I have. Even if we have little, in reality, we have a lot,” he says, a smile in the corner of his eyes.
Ramzi is living this mantra to the fullest.
During the pandemic, the young man worked full time at Home Depot. “The atmosphere at home was strange. I worked full time, so did my mom. We were tired of our jobs, my dad was on leave for the first time while he was a hard worker and my brother was homeschooling, a situation he hated. I was desperate for solutions to this situation,” he explains.
In May 2020, when restaurants were closed due to health restrictions, an idea came to him like a flash: sell smoothies via Snapchat. “One day, I opened my fridge and noticed a smoothie. I closed it and said to myself: 'I'm going to sell smoothies tomorrow'", he tells us, raising his head to the ceiling. He continues: “My mother was right next door, she looked at me and said: 'Ok, tomorrow we're going to the wholesaler. '
The next day, May 20, 2020 at 5 pm sharp, he tells us, the adventure of Smoothzi starts in the family kitchen. “Mom made the donuts, dad made the pancakes, and then I made the smoothies,” he shares, cutting the air out of his hands, punctuating each action. “The photos of the prototypes are taken, the announcement is published, in an hour and a half everything was sold,” he concludes with pride.
A family story
The unconditional support of her mother, Sabiha Merabet, inspires us. She is wearing a simple gray sweater, which contrasts with her son's flocked sweater. Her hair, cut short, adds an elegant touch to her appearance.
In a tone of voice that is also quieter, she shares: “Ramzi has always supported me, he has always believed in me. When he announced his project to me, it was quite natural to embark with him, to accompany him and to support him. I believe in him, I also believe in the strength of young people and in their vision.”
Sabiha worked briefly in the restaurant industry in 2014. This experience allowed her to acquire knowledge that she now wants to pass on to her son.
While working full-time at the Rivière-des-Prairies prison, she and the whole family followed Ramzi on this adventure. From May to December, every day after work, between 19:00 and midnight, the family business comes to life in the kitchen.
An experience that brought the family closer together: “Before, we never saw each other, everyone was in their own room. Now we see each other all the time. There is no better gift for me than to be with my parents all the time, and I think it's a great gift for them as well,” shares Ramzi, her eyes sparkling.
From home to the restaurant
“When the restaurants reopened in 2020, I thought I was going to stop everything. I told myself that I had accomplished my mission, which was to replace the restaurants at that time,” says Ramzi.
However, he looked at the future differently when he realized that the demand was coming directly from the people in his neighborhood. “Friends came to me and said, “but where am I going to order my smoothies now?” ”
Ramzi then decided to go back to work. “During my two weeks off from Home Depot, my father and I started working together from 8 am to 11 pm to develop different recipes.” A successful experience says the young man, who from day one was able to sell smoothies for the equivalent of a week's salary. “That's when we said we could open a restaurant and take the risk of making it work. actually! ”.
Honoring the residents of Rivière-Des-Prairies
As soon as the establishment opened in December 2020, Ramzi received considerable support from residents of Rivières-des-Prairies, who flocked to discover its sweet and savory counter.
“One of the reasons why we opened our first restaurant in Rivière-des-Prairies was to consider the community of Montreal North. We wanted to serve them, give them a warm, friendly place, consider young people,” he shares with conviction.
Inside the establishment, there are a few gifts offered to congratulate him: an AF1 pair of flocked basketball shoes Smoothzi, but also a guest book signed by customers since 2020.
“A lot of [them] call my parents 'mom and dad. ' As a son, when I see [that] it's mission accomplished, it's that they feel genuinely considered,” he says, smiling widely.
Beyond this emotional consideration, Ramzi is also committed to the community of Rivière-des-Prairies by offering a space for emerging artists. “This place is not just a restaurant. We organize openings for artists and provide a stage for artistic performances.”
A word for young people
The 23-year-old young man has a message of hope to pass on to his generation: “You have to believe in yourself, nothing is impossible! Of course it is not easy, but all the difficulties are worth the effort. Because the aim of an ordeal is to learn how to overcome it.”
Sabiha is of the same opinion: “The projects we carry out and that don't succeed are not failures but experiences,” she says, referring to her first experience in catering, which did not work, but which is now useful to the family business.
These words, imbued with wisdom, embody the spirit of hope and determination that animates Ramzi's family.