THUNDER BAY - A local businesswoman is being recognized for her enterprising skills, involvement in the community, and her success at the helm of some popular businesses in the city.
Gabby Cross, co-owner of Norma Jean’s Restaurant and PARO circle member, received the PARO Enterprising Women Alumni Award on Monday.
“It’s not good enough to start a business, to be an enterprising woman you need to be involved in the community and you need to give back,” said Rosalind Lockyer, founder and executive director of the PARO Centre. “Gabby is the kind of person where you see that in everything she does.”
Cross, who is planning on reopening Norma Jean’s Restaurant in downtown Fort William in the next two weeks, has been a member of PARO for 16 years and went through its Gateway program.
“I’m honoured to receive the alumni award,” she said. “I think that anybody who has been through the program for as long as I have and you have the uphill battle, and then you’re here.”
Cross’s first business, the popular Gabby’s Spuds and More in Westfort, was a staple in the community for many years. Cross closed the restaurant when she left town, but now that she has returned, she is looking at revitalizing the 50’s nostalgia in Norma Jean’s Restaurant.
“We want to welcome her back because she’s always been a community player,” Lockyer said. “Her restaurant in the Westfort area, Gabby’s Spuds and More, was very popular with young and old alike. It’s mostly because of her personality and the way she involves herself in the community.”
For cross, working in the restaurant industry is a natural fit for her outgoing personality because she gets to spend time with people all the time and be serving them. And her newest venture provides her with some new company.
“It’s just such a great restaurant,” she said. “And the whole idea of being with Marylyn Monroe every day is really exciting for all of us.”
According to Cross, PARO played a pivotal role in helping her get her first business off the ground 16 years ago. She went through the gateway program, utilized the daycare program, and was able to apply for loans.
Lockyer said Cross was chosen for the Alumni Award because of her success as a business woman and her role in the community.
“That kind of involvement with helping other women in business, helping them to be excited about their successes, and when there’s a crisis having someone to talk to,” she said. “That’s really valuable in our community of entrepreneurship.”
“Having an example, a model of someone who can keep on operating new businesses and opening new businesses year after year and still be successful, women like to see that,” Lockyer continued. “If they see Gabby do that, then that means they can do it too.”
Cross will be recognized during the 2016 Enterprising Women Event on Nov. 17, which will include workshops, mentorship Q&A’s, a tradeshow, and the awards ceremony where either other PARO awards will be handed out.
