Ranjit and Balbir Dhanju, the owners of Meridian Banquets and Conference Centre, have been married for 37 years. Through their decades-long partnership in life and business, they’ve shared an adventurous entrepreneurial spirit and created a string of successful businesses.
Born and raised in India, Ranjit received his degree in agriculture and poultry farming, while Balbir received degrees in the sciences and arts. When they first moved to Edmonton, Ranjit initially worked as a cab and truck driver, while Balbir took business courses and worked as a bank teller. In the 1990s, they decided to dip their toes into the restaurant business and soon successfully owned many popular Indian restaurants in Edmonton, including Pot Luck Pizza and Curry and Bombay Palace.
When their restaurants became busy with catering events and weddings, the idea for opening a banquet centre eventually came to fruition. “It was a big risk for them,” says Ashu Dhanju, their daughter and current manager of Meridian Banquets and Conference Centre. “It was a novel thing for them, as they had never done anything like this before. They decided to build it from the bottom up – they wanted to create a custom banquet facility and freely design it the way they wanted instead of buying a ready-made space.” By the end of 2000, Meridian Banquets and Conference Centre officially opened with a New Year’s launch party. At the same time, they opened their new restaurant, India Garden, next door.
