Elisa Marshall and Benjamin Sormonte did not intend to be overly ambitious when they launched their business in New York in 2014.

“It was a modest dream to open one charming, quaint, and cozy coffee shop and cafe,” Marshall explains.

Their quaint little shop, located in Manhattan’s trendy SoHo neighborhood, was named Maman. Today, it has evolved into a rapidly expanding chain of cafe-bakeries, generating approximately $47.2 million in sales across 34 locations last year, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

Earning a stamp of approval from billionaire Oprah Winfrey, who highlighted Maman’s nutty chocolate chip cookies on her 2017 list of “Favorite Things,” helped bring nationwide recognition to the burgeoning brand. However, Marshall and Sormonte, a married couple with two children, firmly believe that what sets Maman apart from its myriad competitors is an ambiance that extends beyond coffee and pastries.

Maman, which means “mother” in French, is a tribute to the foods their mothers made for them while growing up — Marshall in the Toronto area and Sormonte in southern France. The term evokes “the feeling of warmth and home, which is the vibe we have aimed for,” Marshall says.

“You’re coming here for the ambiance, for the vibe, for the beauty of the space,” she adds. “Good food and coffee are easy to find in many places. So you need that little something more.”

Inspired by Childhoods in Their Mothers’ Kitchens

When the couple met in Montreal in 2011, Sormonte was a corporate M&A lawyer at a global law firm. Marshall had a full-time job in marketing and side gigs in event planning and interior design.

After a brief stint helping friends run a beach club in Ibiza, Spain, in 2012, the couple moved to New York to launch a restaurant of their own. “When we asked ourselves, ‘Who is your favorite chef?’ We both said ‘maman,’ in the sense that we both grew up in a kitchen with our mom,” Sormonte explains.

Maman's cafes double as event spaces with an aesthetic inspired by the French countryside. The couple collaborated with Michelin-starred chef Armand Arnal — a friend of Sormonte’s — to create a menu featuring French classics from their childhoods, such as quiche and tartine, alongside family recipes like Marshall’s chocolate chip cookies. Some items boast “a fun twist,” Marshall says: The salted chocolate cookie sandwich with white chocolate ganache is a fancier, French version of an Oreo.

Their lack of business experience became apparent early on. Sormonte and Marshall underestimated the cost of launching a cafe in New York, spending $250,000. They completely drained their savings and took money from family and friends to cover the rest.

“It was one of the biggest financial risks we could ever take,” Marshall says, adding: “We really risked not only all of our money but also all of our time and energy.”

‘The Hottest Cookie in New York’

The couple and some family members helped construct the first Maman location, painting the walls and installing baking equipment with “a lot of sweat, tears, and love,” Sormonte recalls.

When the cafe opened in 2014, the couple focused entirely on running and operating the business. Their long days began at 6 a.m., baking pastries and other items for the day, and ended at 8 p.m., preparing dough for the next morning.

Getting the business off the ground required “a lot of sacrifice,” Sormonte says, including working 80 hours per week, no days off, and no paychecks “for a while.” They were “very fortunate” to receive financial help from family to live in a nearby apartment in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood, he adds.

Maman’s nutty chocolate chip cookies quickly earned rave reviews, attracting waves of customers. Within a month of opening, an article in New York Magazine’s food blog Grub Street praised Maman for selling “NYC’s most impressive new chocolate-chip cookie.” The acclaim brought in waves of customers, and Maman generated roughly $2 million in revenue during its first full year.

“I remember being in that moment, looking at each other like, ‘We are going to be here all night making these cookies.’ And it was great,” Marshall recalls, adding: “Next thing you know, we’re the hottest cookie in New York.”

Standing Out in a Crowded Industry

By 2015, feeling “close to burnout” from the long hours, the couple hired additional staff and brought in outside investors, starting with a $1.5 million investment from Sormonte’s brother Julien, a managing partner of a Paris-based hotel group.

By 2020, Maman had multiple locations across New York and Canada, and secured a deal with private equity firm TriSpan for between $10 million and $20 million in funding. That capital helped Maman expand further, adding cafes in Florida, Washington, D.C., Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Marshall and Sormonte retained a controlling 50% ownership stake in the business, according to a company spokesperson.

As Maman grows, so does its level of competition in the $49.5 billion U.S. coffee shop market, where its rivals range from local roasters to Starbucks. The couple hopes Maman’s unique style will help it stand out: Its locations double as event spaces, with events and catering making up about 20% of its revenue, Marshall says.

Sormonte and Marshall also sell a Maman cookbook and apparel, including children’s clothing and a partnership with baby apparel brand Lalo. The company aims to generate $65 million in total revenue this year, according to a spokesperson.

The couple plans to continue opening new locations and expanding Maman’s offerings beyond coffee, pastries, and French cuisine. One possibility, Marshall says, is selling versions of Maman’s dishware, plus vases, candles, and other home goods.

“My vision for Maman is much more than just a brick-and-mortar, four-wall restaurant,” says Marshall. “I really see us turning into a multifaceted lifestyle brand.”