Breakfast Dads – Simon
Have you met Simon?
Simon is one of the welcoming new owners over at our Keswick Sunset Grill.
He’s been operating the store for about 10 months now, and attributes much of his success there to his wonderful staff.
“We let them show us how it’s done,” says Simon. “They know their customers; they made the transition very easy. The team here makes it fun to come to work every day.”
“It’s all about trust,” he says.
Simon has always been something of a workaholic, a quality he learned from his father. Not only does he operate the restaurant (with the help of his brother-in-law, George) he is also a full-time commercial real estate agent. He keeps busy.
“My dad would work seven days a week,” he says. “My dad is the hardest working person I’ve ever met.”
Simon’s father worked in a factory for 25 years and also ran multiple booths at a flea market, where he worked on weekends.
“That’s where I learned what the value of a dollar is,” he says. “What you have to do to make a dollar…nothing comes for free. The harder you work, that’s when you make it.”
Some of Simon’s fondest memories as a child are from his time spent at the flea market every weekend.
“I’ve met some of the greatest people there,” says Simon. “I remember every Saturday, around 10 o’clock, there was a little café upstairs… I would always go and get eggs sunny side up, with toast and a hot chocolate.”
In 2002, his father retired, sold everything and decided to buy a gas station. “He couldn’t really afford it, but he took the risk,” says Simon. “You have to take risks, that’s the biggest thing my dad ever taught me.”
His father had $5 in his pocket when he left India and moved to Canada in 1976. He took a risk on starting a new life here, and it paid off.
Now that Simon is a dad, his father’s lessons resonate with him now more than ever.
“I want to be the best I can be for my son, just like my dad was the best he could be for me,” says Simon. “He always gave me what I wanted, and strived for me to do more.
“I don’t want my son to see a man that he’s not proud of,” Simon shares.
Family has always been important to Simon.
About six months ago, he and his wife, Charn, hosted what was probably one of the trendiest first birthday parties of all time for their now 18-month-old son, Jovan.
The guest list included 350 people, and that was just family. They rented a hall, there was a DJ, lighting effects and even a red carpet. “It was more than I expected it to be,” Simon laughs.
They handed out 400 cookies as party favours, and all of the donations went to the Ronald McDonald House, a charity near and dear to their hearts.
“Jovan has been the best thing ever,” Simon says pridefully. “We don’t know what we did with our time before we had him,” he reminisces.
Sunset Grill was the perfect fit for Simon and Charn, mostly due to the hours, but also because of the quality of food they had enjoyed for years. They looked at a lot of different restaurants before settling on Sunset Grill.
“This was the model that worked best around our family life,” he says. “It’s a great brand; very supportive.”
Eventually he’d like to open up another Sunset Grill closer to Caledon, where he lives with his family.
For now, he’s focused on building the best life he can for his son and celebrating the small moments along the way.
The next time you’re in Keswick, be sure to stop by Sunset Grill and say hi to Simon!
STORE INFORMATION
Keswick Marketplace (Woodbine Ave. & Glenwoods Ave.)
23546 Woodbine Ave.,
Keswick, ON, L4P 3E9
Open Daily 7 AM to 3 PM
