Michel's Patisserie Richmond Mall is celebrating 20 years of business

But franchise business Michel’s Patisserie in Richmond Mall off Windsor Street, Richmond, is celebrating 20 years of continuous service to its customers, and owner Rose Golpinar says it all comes down to passion.

“I love what I do, and I love hospitality - if I was reborn, I would do the same job again,” Ms Golpinar told the Gazette.

The Londonderry mum reckons at least 70 per cent of her customers are regulars, and her mission is to keep the store ‘alive’ for them.

“The main thing that keeps me going in business is regular customers - I know most of my regular customers by name,” she said.

“And I don’t like to stay the same - I like changes and new things, new technology and new products. I think that’s another secret in business, having facelifts.”

For Ms Golpinar, business tends to run in five-year cycles; the shop might go through a steady phase for five years, and then things will shift.

“I’ve been through many changes in here - new technology, refurbishments. Thank god there are no empty shops [in the mall] now; we had a long time with empty shops in Richmond Mall and that was tough,” she said.

Ms Golpinar arrives at the store bright and early at 6am every day, and gets away around 2.30pm to pick the kids up from school (the shop remains open until 5.30pm on weekdays, later on Thursdays).

When the Gazette spoke with her she was still in the store after 4pm on a Tuesday, but that was because she was there training new staff. There are now eight employees including herself, a sign that she’s entering one of her ‘steady’ periods.

Many of her staff members are school-age, and a lot of teenagers get their first jobs at Michel’s Patisserie and stay right the way through university.

“It works with our business. I don’t want to do all day myself, so it’s suitable for students after school and weekends,” she said.

“I don’t turn over a lot of staff, they usually stay until they finish school and go to uni, and they usually leave when they get their own career.

“When they start, they stay, and I think that’s because it’s a happy environment. There’s flexibility.”

The best-selling item on their menu is coffee, and when Ms Golpinar teaches new staff members how to make a good brew, she teaches them the key is making it with ‘love’.

“You’ve got to put your heart and soul into it. If your heart’s not there, you’re just making coffee cups,” she said.

“We’ve got a special ingredient, and me and my other staff members believe the special ingredient is love.”

Many regulars will take a slice of cake with their coffee; chocolate mud is an old favourite for many customers, but the most popular cake right now is a vanilla sponge with soft butter cream icing.

“Our cakes have changed a lot over the years. The trend is not heavily cream-filled now - people want a lighter range,” she said.

“The new generation is going more healthy, even in cakes, so we’ve cut down a lot of the sugar and cream, and instead of thick icing, it’s thin butter cream.”

In addition to thanking all her customers, Ms Golpinar wanted to send a special shout-out to all her staff members who have helped keep her business alive for the past two decades.

“I have the best staff I reckon; my staff are really outstanding, they’re well-trained, very polite, and provide excellent customer service. We have a five-star rating in food service,” she said.

To celebrate the milestone, Ms Golpinar and her staff decorated the shop with French colours, wore old-style French outfits, and shared a huge birthday cake with their customers.

Michel’s Patisserie is located opposite Coles in Richmond Mall, 15 Windsor Street, Richmond.