People often ask me what the difference is between banking and running a restaurant.
Banking is predictable. Restaurant life is not.
When I left banking to start T's Your Palate and later Sicily by T's, I thought I understood business. I didn't understand chaos. In a restaurant, I handle sales, inventory, purchasing, operations, and taxes all at the same time. Every day is different. One mistake in stock or pricing affects everything.
Banking taught me one non-negotiable lesson: finance is the backbone of any business. Every number matters. If you don't control your costs, having the best burgers in Kathmandu won't save you. I've seen great restaurants fail because they ignored their numbers.
When we started T's Your Palate, I applied this directly. We became known for the best burgers in Kathmandu not just because of taste, but because we understood the cost structure behind every burger. Quality ingredients cost money. Pricing must reflect that reality, or you don't survive. At Sicily by T's, the best pizzas in Kathmandu come with a price. Every ingredient matters.
I believe marketing must always stay in front too. People need to know you exist before they can love your food. We built both restaurants through word-of-mouth and genuine storytelling about our team. People don't just come for the best burgers in town — they come for the story.
If I could divide restaurant management into three things. They would be :
- Inventory must be maintained properly
- Pricing must reflect ingredient quality and
- Systems must be followed, not guessed.
When we became profitable, we didn't rush to enjoy it. We reinvested. Better equipment, better systems, better structure. This is how you build something that lasts.
Here's something I learned the hard way: don't choose friends, choose skills. I work with partners who are good people, but we're not the same. We have different strengths and weaknesses. Shashank needs to work on communication. Diwas is very blunt. I'm laid-back, sometimes too laid-back. But we don't let disagreements build into resentment. We solve them through weekly meetings. Talking is better than building tension.
One of our biggest challenges is space. At Sicily by T's, we often have to send customers back because there's no seating. It hurts to lose opportunities, but we won't rush into the wrong expansion. Better to be full and profitable than big and struggling.
My goal is simple: I want T's Your Palate and Sicily by T's to be known for serving the best burgers and pizzas in Kathmandu — not just in taste, but in experience. When people search for the best burgers in town or best pizzas in town, I want us to be the answer.
Outside restaurants, photography keeps me connected to creativity. I started in 2012 with a camera my brother brought from Japan. Today, I handle photography for both restaurants myself. It reminds me why I left banking — because I wanted to build something, not just manage it.
If I had to give advice to someone opening a restaurant for the first time, it would be this: opening is easy, managing is hard. Anyone can sign a lease and serve food. What's hard is doing it profitably. What's hard is building a team that cares. What's hard is making decisions when there's no clear answer.
At the end of the day, I still believe what I learned in banking: finance keeps the business alive. But hospitality gives it meaning. Somewhere between spreadsheets and service, between inventory tracking and customer smiles, between pricing strategy and the joy of serving great food — I found the place I was always trying to build.
