Joe Francis, owner of Central McGowan 

Joe Francis always planned to take over the family business, he just didn’t expect it to happen so soon.   
 
Central McGowan has a long history in St. Cloud. Originally started in 1947 by Carl Shutan it was purchased by Leo Henkemeyer in 1954.  Henkemeyer purchased McGowan Welding Supply in Little Falls a few years later, merging the name into Central McGowan.   
 
Henkemeyer ran the business for a number of years before turning leadership over to a management team.  Henkemeyer’s three daughters had no interest in running the business, but all the family members agreed that Joe Francis, Henkemeyer’s grandson, would one-day be in charge.  By the time he was 16 Francis was doing a variety of odd jobs at Central McGowan.   
 
To begin the transition to family leadership, Francis’ parents, Cindy and Jeff, moved into leadership roles at Central McGowan, but in 2011 Jeff Francis passed away unexpectedly.  Cindy Francis and Joe, only a junior in college, briefly discussed selling the company, but both agreed that was an option they did not want to consider.  Cindy Francis stepped in as company CEO and Joe Francis started to fast-track the family succession plan. 
 
During the succession and since becoming president/CEO in 2016, Francis has led the company through a number of expansions and acquisitions. He has diversified the business from industrial gasses to include CO2 distribution to bars and restaurants, custom automation and robotics, and dry ice.  And he has doubled the number of employees.  It is for these reasons that Joe Francis was selected as the 2021 St. Cloud Area Small Business Owner of the Year by the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce.

Business Awards Luncheon 
Honoree Videos 2020

Donella Westphal, owner

Donella Westphal ran a successful advertising agency out of her home and regularly met with clients at Jules’ Bistro in downtown St. Cloud.  When the owner of the bistro decided to sell the restaurant, she asked Westphal for help.  By the time she arrived home, Westphal told her husband, “I want to buy Jules’ Bistro.” 
 
Even though she had no restaurant experience Westphal managed to convince both her husband and the bank that the decision was a good one.  After turning over her entire staff in the first three months, Westphal wasn’t so sure.  She cut back on her agency work, learned every job in the restaurant, and did lots of cooking, serving, coaching and mentoring. 
 

 It wasn’t long before she was purchasing the space next door to expand dining.  Then, after only three years as owner, Westphal received financing to gut and remodel the existing kitchen and add a baking kitchen in the basement of the building. 
 
Timing was not on her side.  About halfway through the construction, COVID-19 hit and the restaurant was shut down.  Westphal talked with her banker who agreed to continue to finance the construction and she forged ahead taking advantage of the closure to finish the project.   
 
With 24 employees prior to the pandemic, and 14 today – including nine who remained throughout the pandemic -- reopening has been a deliberate process for Westphal.  She has cut back hours and is closed on Mondays, a traditionally slow day in hospitality.  The plan is in place to expand hours as demand increases.  
 
In the meantime, her reasons for buying Jules’ Bistro remain solid. An important goal for Westphal is to create an environment where employees can make and build full lives for themselves, and where she can help people learn how to be part of a shared community. The restaurant allows her to create that sense of community – for downtown, for staff, and for patrons. 
 
These days she spends less time cooking and serving, and more time coaching staff and working with them to find creative ways for Jules’ to be a generous community partner. From Anna Marie’s Alliance to the “Kindness Cake” – a Jules’ fundraising original – their charitable focus is on building community and helping families, women and children. 
 
Westphal’s unexpected career shift, company growth and expansion, successful survival of the pandemic, and support of women in business and the community has earned her the title of 2021 Business Central Mark of Excellence-Woman in Business Champion.