MBiz

23 MBiz | november 2015 i t's all in the family for entrepreneurs who own and operate two successful side-by-side businesses in Steinbach. Mike and Dorinda Penner opened Sunshine Greenhouse and Landscaping in 2000. Their son, Mickael, 19, works alongside Mike on the landscaping team, but their 22-year-old daughter, Kalynda, envisioned a different future for herself. After working at a restaurant gift shop in Ontario, she developed an interest in culinary endeavours. So the Penners opened an eatery attached to the existing business, which is located on the same property as the family home. Chinos Bistro, named after their chocolate lab, launched on Mother's Day in 2014 with Kalynda at the helm. "If our kids would like to be involved in this business and we're going to look at some succession planning, then we have to make sure that our kids are enjoying what they're doing," Dorinda says. "Our daughter didn't love the greenhouse portion, and my husband and I had always talked about opening a coffee shop, maybe with an outdoor patio and pizza oven. Instead, we decided to do an indoor restaurant so that it could operate 12 months of the year." Specializing in wood-fired pizza, the bistro has already doubled in size, with 36 seats indoors and more on the patio. And the Penners don't have to go far to gather fresh ingredients. "Throughout the seasons, we have a test garden here on the yard where I grow a various number of tomatoes for the greenhouse. Along with that, we're growing tomatoes for our salads, and we grow rows and rows of basil to make all our own pesto. We'll grow oregano, thyme and sage for various soups or sauces," Dorinda says. "We try to make everything that we possibly can from scratch. Our soups, salads, salad dressings, sauces and dough are all made in-house daily." Dorinda learned a few tricks of the trade from her own mother, who maintained a mini-greenhouse and was always dedicated to cooking from scratch — she even grinds her own wheat for homemade bread. Chinos Bistro also offers the ultimate indulgence to satisfy a sweet tooth. In January, Kalynda travelled to a factory in Italy where she spent 10 days learning how to make the perfect gelato. Since then, she has been honing her skills with the freshest ingredients possible. "Our most popular is strawberry-rhubarb. All our muffins and our gelato is made with rhubarb right out of the garden here. Our pumpkin pie gelato is with pureed pumpkin. Our kiwi-banana is with peeled kiwis and peeled bananas. It's all from scratch," Dorinda says. "Kalynda is now in the process of playing with some individual gelato cakes and gelato desserts too." Right next door, the Penners continue to draw droves of customers to their greenhouse and gift shop. "We have a good variety of greenhouse products, from unique annuals to perennials. Along with other greenhouses in the province that I network with, we're always trying to push the limits. When tropicals became popular, we were right on top of that," Dorinda says. "That's the challenge for independent garden centres in this day and age — we have to have the knowledge, customer service and unique products because the box stores do a great job of bringing in the basics. It definitely pushes the garden centres to be right on top of the trend." Rounding out the business, the five-person landscaping team embarks on projects from design to completion across southeastern Manitoba and into northwestern Ontario. In all aspects of their entrepreneurial adventure, the secret to success is simple. "If you're passionate and you love what you do, every day is enjoyable. Life can be short, so you have to find something that fills your heart and creates joy. We can only say that this has created joy. Our kids are happy and we're happy," Dorinda says. "It's a wonderful big family business so far — not to say it doesn't have some challenging days like any other business, but I've never looked back. I think more of us need to sometimes be willing to take a bit of a risk, get a good business plan and follow your dream." ■ Mike and dorinda Penner and their kids, Mickael and kalynda, run side-by- side businesses in steinbach — Chinos Bistro and sunshine greenhouse and landscaping. at the bistro, they serve gelato and other menu items made from scratch, often using fresh ingredients from their own garden. Photos by Darcy Finley

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