{"id":74804,"date":"2024-02-26T13:09:06","date_gmt":"2024-02-26T20:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=74804"},"modified":"2024-02-26T15:39:35","modified_gmt":"2024-02-26T22:39:35","slug":"deepaks-dhaba-puts-community-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2024\/02\/26\/deepaks-dhaba-puts-community-first\/","title":{"rendered":"Deepak\u2019s Dhaba puts community first"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Warm welcome:<\/strong> Owner and founder Deepak Kalsi strikes his signature pose outside of the Centre Street location of his restaurant, Deepak’s Dhaba. Sauces and spices for all three locations are prepared here. (Photo by Nathan Iles\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I<\/span>f you drive through India, you will come across colourful food stalls on the highways full of vendors selling aromatic curries that are quick and affordable.<\/p>\n

This kind of roadside caf\u00e9 is known as a dhaba<\/a>, often featuring meals created from local ingredients sourced from surrounding communities.<\/p>\n

Deepak\u2019s Dhaba<\/a> brings this culture to Calgary. Ever since opening a stall at the Crossroads Market in 2016, the restaurant has crafted authentic Indian food from local ingredients.<\/p>\n

T<\/span>his, along with a commitment to community building, propelled the business to open two additional locations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a people person,\u201d says owner and founder Deepak Kalsi. \u201cI started doing the restaurant because I wanted to build a community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look forward to every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kalsi is from Firozpur, a city in northern India. He moved to Canada in 2014 and brings deep industry experience to his work.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy advanced education is in hospitality management and resorts,\u201d said Kalsi. \u201cI was privileged to work with many different kinds of hotels, where every single position was held to optimum levels of standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also has experience in bartending, night auditing and food and beverage production.<\/p>\n

Deepak\u2019s Dhaba started as a single table at the Crossroads Market<\/a>, where Kalsi sold chai spices. It quickly evolved into a food stall modelled on the dhabas found in India.<\/p>\n

Here, customers enjoy a wide range of curries, samosas and rice dishes.<\/p>\n

The business has since expanded, with a standalone restaurant opening on Centre Street in 2021 and a stall in Calgary Farmers Market West<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n

Kalsi employs 12 people across the three locations while juggling a variety of responsibilities himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom peeling the garlic to showing the face on the camera, I do all,\u201d said Kalsi. \u201cI love taking on challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I chose the right industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Curry-er:<\/strong> A delivery van for Deepak’s Dhaba sits parked at Crossroads Market. The graphic on the side depicts the owner and founder, Deepak Kalsi. (Photo by Nathan Iles\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Spices are browned and sauce is prepared at the Centre Street location and then shipped immediately to the two other locations in a white van emblazoned with the company logo \u2013 a colourful illustration of Kalsi himself, hands held together in welcome.<\/p>\n

Most of these ingredients are sourced at a local level.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy butchers are all local,\u201d Kalsi said. \u201cI buy stuff from Hutterites, and a lot of my stuff is farm-sourced.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we don\u2019t support each other, we will be history.\u201d<\/p>\n

This collaboration extends beyond internal operations. Deepak\u2019s Dhaba has teamed up with Two Pillars Brewery<\/a> to create a chai-infused beer, as well as a chai-infused rum with Two Rivers Distillery.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Dhaba\u2019s presence in the farmers markets remains strong.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen the employees have a big period of rest,\u201d said Bliss & Co<\/a> employee Eli Copping. \u201cThey have a very loyal clientele and are very busy most days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bliss & Co maintains a stall at the Crossroads Market across from Deepak\u2019s Dhaba, making them neighbours.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a lot of things at Crossroads,\u201d Copping said. \u201cSmall, local business \u2014 but it\u2019s also authentic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe butter chicken sauce is to die for.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Humble beginnings:<\/strong> Deepak’s Dhaba founder Deepak Kalsi strikes his signature pose at Crossroads Market in Calgary. This stall is the first of three locations the restaurant has opened. (Photo by Nathan Iles\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deepak’s Dhaba has been bringing strong community values \u2013 and authentic Indian food \u2013 to Calgary since 2016. [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":870,"featured_media":74805,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"Deepaks Dhaba NI","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1431,9,16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-74804","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-city","8":"category-food-and-nutrition","9":"category-life","10":"category-ramsay"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/870"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74804"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74863,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74804\/revisions\/74863"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}