“I come from a very conservative aristocratic family… I chose to live a life that was not exactly according to what I was used to — and 47 years ago, I came to Lahore, and I’m still here,” says Florence Willers, a French-born restaurateur who would go on to build one of Karachi’s most enduring European dining institutions, Café Flo.

Born in Reims, in France’s Champagne region, Willers was raised in a family shaped by tradition and expectation. She attended boarding school near Paris before travelling to the United States to study sociology — a decision that set her apart. She has described herself as a misfit, drawn to a life far removed from the one laid out for her.

Rather than returning to France after her studies, Willers chose to travel. Hitchhiking with friends, her journey gradually expanded beyond Europe and into the Middle East. Moving through Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, she eventually reached Kabul. Her travels coincided with the turmoil of the early 1970s, and she found herself stranded for several months near the Afghan border during the war that led to the creation of Bangladesh.

When she finally entered Pakistan, the arrival was far from smooth. In Peshawar, her passport was stolen, setting off a chain of events that ended with her brief detention. Her friends were held in a proper jail; she recalls being placed in a women’s facility she likened to a third-class hotel. After two weeks, they were released.

With little money, Willers travelled south to Karachi, staying at a YMCA near a bridge and relying on chance encounters to survive. One such encounter proved decisive. She was offered commercial work after being picked up by a man from an advertising agency, a connection that led her to Akbar Rizvi, the son of the legendary singer Madam Noor Jehan. What began as a professional acquaintance later deepened into a relationship, anchoring her more firmly to Pakistan.

She spent several years in Lahore, teaching French at the American School, before returning to Karachi. Encouraged by friends, she opened a boutique called Art Center, followed by another successful venture. Though she enjoyed the work, the pace eventually became exhausting.

After her divorce in 1988, her family urged her to return to France. She refused. Convinced that Pakistan would offer her children a stronger sense of family and respect for elders than Europe ever could, she chose to stay. Decades later, she still believes it was the right decision.

“My mother was frantically calling me: ‘You come back, you come back,’ But I decided to stay… It’s better to raise your kids in Pakistan, because they have this utmost respect for parents and elderly people — something we don’t have much in Europe.”

— Florence Villiers, Owner, Café Flo

The idea for Café Flo emerged during visits to France, when her children developed a love for traditional crêpes. Back in Karachi, Willers took over the cafeteria at Alliance Française, initially serving crêpes to students. Gradually, the menu expanded — first steaks, then salads and fish — and, with the help of a professional French cook, the café evolved into a full restaurant.

Limited finances shaped Café Flo’s distinctive aesthetic. Steel furnishings and French posters collected from Paris streets became its visual signature, a design language born out of necessity that later became its identity.

For Willers, however, success has never been measured purely in profit. Several members of her staff have been with her since the beginning. She provides health insurance, pays school fees for employees’ children, and offers monthly bonuses. “You give love, you receive love,” she says, describing a philosophy she applies equally to business and life.

Have you visited Café Flo? Does Florence’s journey change how you see Karachi’s food scene? Let us know in the comments!

This article was developed with the assistance of AI tools.