With a love and passion for one too many things, Elisa Marshall, a Toronto native who calls NYC home, couldn’t find enough hours in the day to do all the things she loved, nor could she find that “perfect” job or café, so alongside her fiancé, Ben Sormonte (previously a corporate lawyer), she invented it – Maman. Quickly embraced by SoHo locals and international visitors, the café, restaurant, and event space has flourished with multiple locations across New York City, New Jersey, Toronto, and Montreal (and more to come this year!).
Growing up, Elisa never had that single what do you want to be when you grow up epiphany; rather, her passions were always a mixture of many things: fashion designer, baker, event planner, branding and marketing, interior designer, or the next Martha Stewart. Always with a love for the kitchen in the background, she began her career wearing many hats in the fashion industry before settling into PR and events. With her creativity naturally flowing from branded popups to private shindigs, Elisa loved planning more intimate occasions and celebrating people as opposed to “things.”
In her mid-20’s, juggling a 9-5 fashion PR job, planning weddings and events during the evening and weekends, and co-founding a business baking wedding cakes and making sweets into the wee hours, things got too chaotic. She mindfully refocused on what she loved most and decided to open a restaurant in Spain with her French native partner-in-life, Ben. She also co-founded Sweet Expressions, a Montreal-based cupcake and candy bar catering company. After three years in Spain, New York called them home.
In love with the coffee culture of NYC, Elisa and Ben often worked from various cafés while planning the next season’s events and weddings, and quickly realized there was nothing out there that embodied the love they knew from those fondest young memories in their mother’s kitchens. Both yearned for a beautiful, homey place where they could savor a delicious home baked cookie, yet gather with friends for a lively brunch as if in their own living room.
In 2014, Elisa and Ben opened Maman (French for mother) in SoHo, a beautiful, welcoming place to eat, drink, and gather amidst all the things we love and those we love. Over the last eight years, they’ve opened twenty nine locations across multiple cities, with more on the way. Bringing to life childhood favorites, both savory and sweet from the south of France and North America, dishes focus on the highest quality, locally sourced ingredients and highlight twists on classic French technique. Maman has collaborated with brands in a variety of sectors from home goods to lifestyle to culinary, including Paper Source, Anthropologie, Samsung, Sonos, West Elm, Elmhurst, Vita Coco, Birchbox, Fora Foods, Erin McKenna, and more. Maman’s famous nutty chocolate chip cookie was named one of Oprah’s “Favorite Things” and one of NYC’s best chocolate chip cookies in New York Magazine. Elisa has also contributed for MarthaStewart.com and launched her first-ever cookbook, “Maman: The Cookbook, All Day Recipes to Warm Your Heart,” in the Fall of 2021.
