Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle McDougall.
Hi Danielle, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The Story of Minnesota Nice begins with a little girl that would always love playing “restaurant” with her brothers. As the only girl in the younger set of siblings, she had to be creative to find ways to get them to play with her and from that, a dream was born. This little girl is our mom, Jeanette Proulx, creator and founder of Minnesota Nice Cafe along with her husband, Roger Proulx, also making all the parts come together. She held that dream until finally at the age when many individuals are looking to retire, she got the doors of Minnesota Nice Cafe open at age 62 in the fall of 2006.
The success and popularity of the business brought about some challenges over the years though, like too many customers for the space with not enough seating or parking. So in 2013, Jeanette went back to the bank to discuss a move to a bigger location and they were eager to back the expansion. They purchased and remodeled the current Minnesota Nice Café building, put a commercial kitchen in what was once a gift shop, and opened the doors at 315 Irvine Avenue in October of 2013.
Over the years Jeanette has had much to be thankful for as her business has grown, especially the opportunity to work closely with all of her children. Her son, Greg, quit his job and began working at the initial cafe months before opening, helping to develop and plan the menu as well as getting the kitchen setup. In the beginning, her son, Jacob, worked at the cafe as a second job and throughout the years, both have been chefs and managers alongside Jeanette. In 2014, Jacob and his wife Amanda Proulx, moved back to the Midwest from California in 2014 to be a part of the family business–Jacob as the Kitchen Manager/Head Chef and Amanda managing the office and serving tables too! Daughter, Danielle McDougall, moved back to Bemidji in 2016 to continue growing the catering aspect of the business. You can spot one of our catering vans cruising around town with Jeanette’s beautiful face and pictures of our delicious food on it.
Jeanette had no intentions of ever slowing down or retiring (obviously!) but the combination of a dementia/Alzheimer’s diagnosis and the onset of Covid closures affecting the business pace, things really slowed down for Jeanette and on Sept 14th 2022 Jeanette passed away from the progression of the disease.
Today, her kids Jacob, Amanda, and Danielle, continue the legacy of Minnesota Nice Cafe and all that Jeanette dreamt about and built over the years.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Some challenges over the years were not enough space in the first location and Jeanette wanting to own her space instead of rent. When she told Roger she felt it was time to find a new building he knew she was right but wasn’t looking forward to the amount of work that needed to go into making it happen! As with any construction project, finding the right time to close and move over took longer than anticipated but the larger space, better parking situation and owning their own building did make it all worth it!
Some seasons we struggled to find the right people for our team and other seasons it’s been great! We are so thankful that the majority of our kitchen staff has been with us for over 3 years and 2 of our staff have been with us since Jeanette opened her doors – in the restaurant industry this is a huge win!
The mandated closures and hoops we had to jump through in 2020 did have us questioning our sanity at times. Right before Covid hit, we were moving forward on a project to build a catering kitchen on the property next to the cafe. This would have increased our versatility in the size of events we could take on, provided a space for groups to book a meeting and small event space and an outdoor patio for future events – oh the possibilities! Once the dust settled from the upheaval of that year, construction costs increased and we made the hard decision to halt any plans for building. We endeavor to see any silver linings or bright spots in otherwise murky situations, but it was definitely difficult to close the door on that particular project.
This summer, June of 2025, Bemidji experienced a storm with wind speeds up to 120 MPH which took a huge toll on the area. It’s estimated we lost 9 million trees in this storm, not to mention damage to buildings. Businesses, government, private and non-profits all have been dealing with temporary solutions and getting repairs done. The day after the storm while the cafe was without power we were grateful for city water and gas powered ovens, stove and water heater! We had lanterns and a team member brought a generator so we could make ice and have fans while we cooked for the Wedding we needed to cater that day for 270 guests!
Small Business owners have to pivot and prioritize constantly. Caring about our team and making sure we are also taking care of our customers is a balancing act and we love taking that challenge on.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We love hosting guests in our cafe! A place for people to meet and connect and share a hearty, quality meal that reminds them of those meals cooked with love “just like grandma used to make.” We believe in quality food and service and endeavor to make that everyone’s experience.
Our catering team serves an average of 40+ weddings a year and know that couples are trusting us to deliver on this promise of quality meals made with care and attention to detail. We love for our guests to be served in a timely manner too – no one loves sitting at a reception that’s been going for 40 minutes and still waiting to get food. We also have a number of businesses that choose us for their staff celebrations, trainings and working lunches and we love bringing them the same level of excellence and care. Funerals are never an easy event to plan for and sometimes families are so tired of making decisions. We believe we can help alleviate stress by taking care of them and making the kind of comfort food that just feels like a hug!
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
In the past we have been part of BNI – a business networking organization to help grow each others businesses and get good feedback. That was helpful in generating both for us for a time.
We have also valued some training that has been hosted by Northwest Minnesota Foundation and been able to send some staff to them as well. They are a great resource in so many ways and a huge part of how Jeanette got all of her plans together to get the business rolling in the first place. We highly recommend getting connected with one of their mentors as well—it’s such a great resource for local businesses!
Going into 2026 will be our 20th year in business and we look forward to the next 20 and how our business will expand and change!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.minnesotanicecafe.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minnesotanicecafe/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MinnesotaNiceCafe
