Fast Company: Torya Blanchard of Good Girls Go To Paris Crepes

Torya Blanchard has turned a tiny budding business into a growing brand name in Detroit - Good Girls Go to Paris Crepes.

The 31-year-old started off in a 48-square-foot literal hole in the wall between Oslo and the downtown YMCA. Today she has two locations in the city that employ 12 after opening her new location in the Park Shelton Building in Midtown. Blanchard's creperies serve 40 types of crepes with fresh ingredients. Not bad for a French teacher with no business background.

Why did you decide to set up shop in Detroit?
I've lived in Detroit for 30 years, so it made perfect sense to set up shop here. Location will definitely make or break a business. Not only is high traffic important, but it is important to feel at home at your business. Detroit is home for me.

What are some of the advantages to doing business here?
A lot of people are hesitant to open a business in Detroit, so when someone does, people definitely notice. If you are a small shop or restaurant in the Midtown and Downtown areas you will get noticed.  

What do you see in Detroit that other people who live outside the city don't?
Detroit is a very underserved market. I'm not going to say that Detroit doesn't have it's share of problems. That's probably putting things lightly. However, people still choose to live, go to school and work in the city so there is a captive audience.

What advice would you give to someone who was thinking about opening a business in the Motor City?
I think it's a big misconception that it takes a lot of money to start a business. Keep things simple and avoid taking out loans. Start things off small.

If you could change one thing about Detroit, what would it be?
I would consolidate the areas that need costly city services and demo blighted neighborhoods. I would restructure and group vacant land as high incentive/low tax development agricultural districts. The effect being cutting the cost of city government and turning turning blighted neighborhoods into farmland. Detroit is too big for it's own good.

Source: Torya Blanchard, owner of Good Girls Go To Paris Crepes
Writer: Jon Zemke