With more than 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Maria Struik is a natural in this very demanding and always changing business. Maria was educated in the Netherlands. Upon immigrating to Canada, she went back to school to obtain her Real Estate and Business Brokers License. After meeting her late husband John, who was an Area Franchisee for an international food franchise, they worked as a husband and wife team. Their employment as Area Franchisees was a job which they both enjoyed tremendously, as it was a combination of hospitality and real estate, meeting and helping people of all walks of life. John’s sudden passing 3 years ago, and ongoing legal confrontations with the new corporate ownership led to a settlement, which left Maria with no other alternative than to re-think the hospitality industry as a whole. Maria understands all too well how busy everyone’s life is these days; how we all long to think back of the time when Mom made delicious homecooked meals. (Remember the stack of pancakes with real Log Cabin Syrup, or the delicious bowl of fresh-made soup?) This is what inspired Maria to redevelop a concept, which provides the old familiar foods in a more contemporary setting -- “smothered” with hospitality, second to none. The long familiar and proven diner concept was renamed Roosters Diner. Maria is responsible for overseeing the existing units, as well as site selection and recruitment of new operators. Maria is an active Pro-Life member and likes to help rather than to criticize. One of her goals is to establish a training school in hospitality. She wants to offer special opportunities and incentives for attendance to expectant mothers, thereby providing training and a career choice. She hopes that this will help these mothers-to-be to find employment after giving birth. For the past two years, Maria has been a finalist in the North American Marketing Contest. Just recently, she was named Cambridge Who’s Who Entrepreneur of the Year in the Hospitality lndustry. While inclusion in the Cambridge Who’s Who Registry is an honor, only a small selection of members in each discipline are chosen for this distinction To learn more about Roosters Diner and how you can become involved in this not-so-ordinary new concept, please call: Toll Free: 1-866-973-9013 Or visit: www.roostersdiner.com