The man who lived a dream – Ramakant Kharel

He is the first from the Nepali community to establish himself as a successful entrepreneur in the highly competitive Chicago city. An inspiration for many Asians, Chicago based restaurateur Ramakant Kharel runs two popular eateries – An Indian joint Mt Everest and a newly opened Indo-Chinese place called Red Hot Chili Pepper in Evanston. Kharel has also been instrumental in bringing superlative Indian food as well as introducing authentic Nepalese dishes into the palates of Chicagoans. The seasoned food connoisseur believes that good food combined with great service is the key factor in service industry.

His newest venture is bringing back the nostalgic fusion flavors of Indian and Chinese cooking that many Indians have grown up eating.
A dedicated food industry enthusiast, Kharel runs his business with a lot of passion and hopes to touch lives by feeding people great grub.

While working for restaurants during my struggling period I noticed that while in Indian restaurants the food was good but service was bad, in American eateries the service that was efficient but the taste of food wasn’t that great. My dream was to combine the best of both worlds and open a restaurant that had excellent Indian food and equally efficient service.

 

Ramakant Kharel runs two popular eateries – An Indian joint Mt Everest and a newly opened Indo-Chinese place called Red Hot Chili Pepper in Evanston.

His newest venture is bringing back the nostalgic fusion flavors of Indian and Chinese cooking that many Indians have grown up eating

Ramakant Kharel who originally belongs to Nepal spent some of his early years in Delhi, India and is almost a global citizen by heart

His real life-story is no less eventful than a Bollywood movie. Restaurateur, Ramakant Kharel, met the girl of his dreams in his hometown of Kathmandu, Nepal. The two got married secretly as the families were opposed to the match. In a quest to give his love a better life, Kharel made the tough decision of leaving his wife back home to come to Chicago, USA. After realizing that his wife’s parents, unaware of their couple status were looking to get her married off, the two revealed their marriage and his wife joined him. The young couple struggled together and made Chicago their new home. After years’ of hard work and many jobs later, Ramakant Kharel rose to become one of the first successful entrepreneurs from Nepal in Chicago. Today the couple lives happily in Glenview with their two children and is thankful for all the blessings life has brought along.

Ramakant Kharel who is exceptionally busy these days managing the operations of his newly opened restaurant Red Hot Chili Pepper, chats with Hi India on everything from his struggles to his success story and the invaluable business advice his wife gave him years ago.

 

LIFE IN A FLASH BACK
Ramakant Kharel who originally belongs to Nepal spent some of his early years in Delhi, India. Almost a global citizen by heart, Kharel admits that as a child when he was growing up in Delhi he always thought that India was his home and country. It was only after he grew up and his dad shifted back to their hometown in Nepal he realized that Nepal is his country too. Kharel laughs, “Today the same is with Chicago. The moment I came here I felt at home. I feel equally connected to India, Nepal and Chicago.”

Ramakant Kharel’s life is an inspiring journey that many immigrants who come to America go through. Detailing his life in his own words, Kharel says, “I came to Chicago back in 1991 as a student. Even though I came under extraordinary circumstances where I had secretly married my love and left her back home, I was determined to make my life a success over here.”

Kharel recalls, “I enrolled myself in a college here but due to my financial crisis I could not complete my education. But being a drop out did not break my spirit and I was hopeful that with honesty and hard work I will succeed in life.”

He says, “I had completed my Masters in English back home in Nepal when I came here so I had no language barriers. But there were other struggles, as I had no friends, family or guidance on how to shape my life. After my wife joined me in Chicago we undertook this journey together. During this time I worked in many restaurants as a waiter. I always had two jobs, if I used to work in one place during the day, I would work at another during the night. I worked extremely hard during those initial years and while most of the time I worked as a waiter in many eateries I also dabbled in a few other jobs. I was a bellman at Intercontinental also and even though that job paid well, I had the desire to do something more. I had seen many people who worked, as bellmen would even retire in that job, as it would give them enough money. But my dreams were bigger for my family and myself. During those early years I also worked in customer service and I was also a salesperson. But the job of salesman was didn’t suit me as one had to lie a lot and I wasn’t comfortable with doing anything that was unethical to earn a living. I remember during this phase when I was wondering on what profession should I pursue, my wife gave me a valuable advice. She said that I should do something in food industry as all these years she had observed that I was the happiest when I was working in food business. I would say that advice changed my life.”

Kharel listened to his wife and decided to invest his hard earned money in a restaurant of his own. He says, “By 2000 I had saved enough to open my restaurant. But then, there were other crucial decisions to be made too. Everybody advised me against choosing Evanston as a location for an Indian eatery as it was so close to Devon. But I went with my instinct and by the grace of God there was a line outside my restaurant on the very first day.” He adds, “Evanston was an untapped market as there was a demand for Indian food but no eateries to cater to that. I am glad that I was able to recognize that gap.”

 

BRIDGING NEPAL AND CHICAGO

Kharel believes that he felt an instant connection to Chicago and the city too has been kind to him. On being one of the first from Nepali community to settle in Chicago, he says, “When I came here there were only about 15 Nepali families. This was 26 years ago, today that number has grown to around 10,000 people settled everywhere around the city and suburbs.” He adds, “It’s a close, growing community. And many people come to me for advice as I was amongst the first to settle here.” He laughs, “I am amongst the older generations of Nepal here and in Chicago even though I am not that old!”
Kharel has also been actively involved in philanthropic activities for his home country. Kharel has been involved with associations such as Non-Resident Nepalese (NRN), Nepal American Centre and Chicago Nepal Friendship Society.

When the devastating earthquake struck Nepal, Kharel was involved with the organizations to raise funds for restoration. He says, “I represented Nepal American Centre at that time we met our target of $75000. Together the organizations were able to raise over $150k in Chicago. We all were carefully involved to ensure that the money is out to maximum benefit and it is heartening that a lot of rebuilding and restoration work was carried out.”
On the food side too, Kharel does not fail to bring the culture of his place closer to the people in Chicago. He says, “In my Indian restaurant while ninety pecent of menu is Indian there are also Nepali dishes as we would love people to come and try out the food and know more about it.” He says, “We also chose the name Mt Everest as it was a landmark name from the region we belong to.”

 

THE NEW VENTURE
About his new Indo-Chinese eatery, Red Hot Chili Pepper, Kharel says it is also a labor of love like his first restaurant. On why he chose Indian Chine fusion cuisine, he says, “I grew up in Delhi where Indo-Chinese fusion is very popular. When we came to Chicago we always missed that food and flavor. The Chinese that we get in America is bland and not the fusion we ate back home. And it’s not just me but a lot of people who grew up in India that have a certain nostalgia attached to that kind of food.” Through his new restaurant, Kharel hopes to serve people that familiarity of comfort food they grew up eating.

The passion behind his work is showing results, as his place, which is just a few weeks old, is already attracting a steady stream of customers. Kharel says, “Those who come to dine here are returning back for more meals and that is the biggest compliment for any restaurateur.”
He chose Evanston as the location again for his new place as he thinks that the small University City has a lot of food aficionados and are looking to try more cuisines.

In the future, Kharel hopes to open a culinary school to impart the immense knowledge of the food world he has gained over the decades of working.

 

FITNESS FREAK
Though Kharel is by his own admission a dedicated worker he is also a disciplinarian when it comes to his fitness routine. He believes just by working for your livelihood you are not doing enough for your body. He says, “One needs to push oneself out of their comfort zone and that is when the body starts reacting to exercise.” On many people who ask for his fitness advice, he says, “I always tell people to start slow. If I were to tell them to exercise for one hour on the first day itself they probably would need to be in bed for seven days. I would say one should start with as little as three minutes and keep on increasing it till you reach your goal of about half an hour an hour per day.”

On a personal front, Kharel is happy at the way life has shaped up for him. He says, “My wife has been my support all these years and has inculcated wonderful values in my two children. She is a Krishna devotee and goes to ISCKON. I hope to continue doing good work and inspire many other people.”