Ram Khanal and employee Brynn Keeler prep for a busy Friday night at Cattelmens Chophouse in Taber on February 23rd 2024.
Starting with one restaurant to now four this local business owner runs some great spots to eat all across southern Alberta. Ram Khanal is a highly successful businessman who wanted to work a job he was passionate about. He made his dreams a reality and created some culinary gems.
“I was a Master of Business Administration Student in management training for oil and gas and worked for an oil field company for a while but I never liked it. It was not my industry, there was a lot of money, but it was not for me. That day I said maybe I should excel in my career and build a business around things that I like. The moment I realized I did not like the career that I worked so hard for, that’s when I made a change.”
This life-changing revelation made him work hard to chase his dreams of opening his first restaurant and in 2015 he started the Cattlemen’s Chophouse in Picture Butte. As he saw a lot of success in that first venture, he from there he expanded very quickly and purchased the Telegraph Taphouse in downtown Lethbridge in 2017. Two successful years later he opened the Water Tower Bar & Grill in 2019 and now in 2023 he has expanded with the Cattlemen’s Chophouse to Taber.
With Taber being a small town with not many fine dining experiences the community has been incredibly welcoming and has shown the biggest support to the new joint. “This restaurant has grossed more money than all three of my previous restaurants.” Khanal says,
With community playing such a crucial role in helping accomplish the success of locally – owned businesses, Steven Mack, the manager at Cattlemen’s Chophouse Taber, says it important that they try to give back to the community by supporting local.
“We try to use local as much as we can for example when building this place. We made sure that all the tables and chairs and a lot of the furniture we got from a local store in Lethbridge. That also goes with all the construction that was done by a local company from Taber. When it comes to the kitchen, we use local farmers for all our dishes that use fresh vegetables.”
Supporting the community and the other local businesses in the region is important says Khanal. With the help from the public all four of his restaurants have done very well. Khanal says he will be expanding even more this year going onto his fifth restaurant in Lethbridge. He wants to continue sharing his passion for the industry even though it can be difficult at times. “The restaurant industry is hectic and with 79 employees it can be challenging but this is all I know and I love it,” says Khanal.
The restaurant business is not an easy one, but Khanal seems to have beaten the odds and proven otherwise. His hard work, dedication to community and passion for serving local produce has made him a thriving businessman in the Lethbridge area.
