Jackson Free Press

Since she was a little girl serving guests where her father worked in France, Anne Amelot-Holmes knew she belonged in the restaurant business.

Born in France, Amelot-Holmes moved to the U.S. with her parents and sister, Sophie, when she was just 9 years old. Her father, Christian Amelot, is a trained French chef who has served as executive chef for the late Foreign French Minister Maurice Schumann and has also worked as chef de cuisine at The Sundancer in Highland Village and as a corporate chef for Valley Food Services Inc. and U.S. Foods.

When she was 18, Amelot-Holmes went back to France to study hotel management, working in a few hotel restaurants for a couple of years before returning to the U.S. in 1998. From there, she took a job as a serv+er at Amerigo Italian Restaurant and later worked at Nick's Restaurant from 1999 to 2010, making her way from server to general manager.

In 2010, Amelot-Holmes helped Derek and Jennifer Emerson open Local 463 Urban Kitchen, but shortly after its summer opening, her mother, Patricia Amelot, passed away. Amelot-Holmes decided to take a short break from the restaurant business and focus on raising her daughter, Gabrielle, with her husband, Warren Holmes. In May 2011, David Conn of Amerigo, Char Restaurant and Sombra Mexican Kitchen reached out and offered her a position in sales and marketing. In January 2012, Conn took over the former AJ's On The Lake space in The Township and asked Amelot-Holmes what she thought he should do with the space. She suggested a French cuisine restaurant. With the help of her father, Amelot-Holmes opened Anjou Restaurant in April 2012 and now serves as the proprietor.

"Dad and I always talked about if we were ever to do our own restaurant, this is what we'd have in mind, this is the menu we'd want to do," she says. "The concept was there, in our heads, anyway, so it was easy after that."

Since opening, Amelot-Holmes has worked hard to create a classic French bistro dining experience, with a few southern classics, such as fried catfish. Her father is the executive chef, and together, they collaborate on the menu to keep things authentic while also stirring up interest. "We try to stay as true to French cuisine and me and my dad's French background as much as possible," she says. "I think (people have) really embraced us."

Amelot-Holmes says she would love to open another Anjou in neighboring states, but she doesn't have any plans just yet. For her, everything is about keeping the focus on the customer, having a good team to support the restaurant, and finding balance. She says that since her mother's passing, she's learned how to do that. "I've learned that this is what I like to do. I like to be surrounded by people every day, to make people happy," she says. "If you're not happy doing something, walk away. Life is too short."