The owner of Harvest Time Eatery in Watson has won a video contest for entrepreneurs with disabilities.

“I was excited,” Sherri Cooper said of winning the Just Watch Me Video Contest run by the Saskatchewan and Manitoba Community Futures associations.

“For Sagehill it's really exciting to see new entrepreneurs and existing entrepreneurs recognized for all their hard work and dedication,” said Susan Wehage, small business specialist with Sagehill Community Features.

“We’re very excited and happy that one was selected from our region.”

Cooper started her business a year ago after working 25 years in restaurants because she loved to cook, she said. The mayor drops by often for coffee and sometimes lunch with her husband, and Cooper appreciates the community support, she said.

She has cerebral palsy, but that doesn't present as many problems as you might think, she said.

“My left hand doesn’t work as good as my right hand, and my left foot doesn’t work as good as my right foot, but we figure it all out.”

She’d advise a person with a disability looking to start their own business to volunteer with another business owner for a week to learn about everything they’ll face.

She’s been told half of restaurants fail in the first year, which makes her success exciting, she said. Her eatery has succeeded because it’s different, she said.

“We make everything homemade. Our bread, our buns, we cook all our own meats here and slice them, we don’t have a deep fryer. We cook home cooked food.”