The rapid expansion of Homers Donuts is an unqualified success story on the island of Montreal and now beyond.
I sat down with Terry Axiotis, the visionary behind this growing brand, to find out how this story was all written.
Homers made its debut in the early spring of 2024 on Sherbrooke Street West in NDG. Since that time, new franchises have opened in Brossard, Laval, Montreal’s Quartier des Spectacles area, Quebec City, Terrebonne, and very soon in Gatineau, Blainville, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, and Chateauguay. After that Homers will land in the Greater Toronto area.
Homers offers fresh donuts made by hand daily, with up to 30 unique flavors. Six months after the debut in NDG, Axiotis took over the spot next door that housed a hair salon. He added video machines, some tables and an expanded menu with milkshakes, coffees, sandwiches made with donuts and potato wedges.
A native of the Park Extension area, Axiotis got his start in the food industry at the age of 15 at McDonald’s franchises, eventually rising to the role of manager. He moved on to acquiring three Subways locations and then some Boustan franchises. That is where the donut dream started to take shape. At the NDG spot, he opened a hamburger restaurant next door. “I did it to ensure Boustan did not get any competition from someone else,” he said.
While what was known as Grand Burger did not succeed, Axiotis still had a plan for the space. He saw how well Bernie Beigne was doing in the Mile End. “I knew that they had no intention of franchising, so I decided to look into starting my own place, “ he said. “I spent six months working on my product in the basement of Boustan. When I was ready, Homers was born. We were an instant success.”
I can attest to that as the lineups out the door went on for an extended period of time, so much so that they had to extend their closing time from 6 pm to 11 pm.
As for Brossard, Axiotis was using that spot on Taschereau Blvd. for storage space when he decided to open store number two. From there, expansion went quickly. He is finally opening a corporate head office in Laval, near where he resides, and has two partners on board: Zineb Benmoussa heads up marketing and product development and Noriel Gantala, the director of operations.
“After we open on the West Island, I think that will be it for the island of Montreal,” Axiotis said. “We do not want to saturate the market.”
Homers, of course, is very popular for large take-out orders and catering.
Now I have a new cheat for lunch, after enjoying a crispy chicken sandwich placed between some sweet sugar donuts. Homers has gotten this right! Log on to: https://www.homersmtl.ca/