As I walked through the doors of Hotel Bisha in the heart of Toronto’s entertainment district, I was struck by how far its creator had come from his days of leaving his homeland in Lebanon. He was a young man under very difficult circumstances during the Lebanese Civil war. In his early 20s, Charles Khabouth and his family paid to be smuggled out of the country in a fishing vessel in what must have been a harrowing 14-hour journey that landed them in Cyprus, ultimately leading them to safe passage to Canada under the cover of darkness. The homeland they fled was apparently a life of luxury, but luxury left behind, as they escaped their war-ravaged country to begin a new and uncertain life. This was clearly a pivotal beginning in what was to become one of Canada’s greatest entrepreneurs and hospitality success stories.

The lobby of Bisha with its black and gold premium cues, brilliant and luxurious in very detail, en route to coffee at rooftop KŌST Restaurant, is somewhat of an homage to this man’s work. The desk staff looked more like I was checking into the Armani Milano than a downtown Toronto hotel. Black suits, pristine white shirts neatly pressed and pin-straight ties greeted me upon my arrival.

It was a beautiful morning as we were greeted by KŌST’s General Manager Rob O’Rinn with a wonderful non-knuckle bump handshake. This establishment offers what is likely one of the greatest views overlooking the city, with the CN Tower so close you can almost touch it. We were shown to “Charles’ Table”and served a lovely cappuccino brewed to perfection while we enjoyed the view.

Charles promptly arrived at the agreed time of 1:00 p.m. Punctuality is understandingly important to him with the gruelling schedule he no doubt keeps. With ownership through his firm Ink Entertainment that boasts over a dozen restaurants, 5 night clubs and a hotel, 4 art galleries and a combined roster of over 3,600 employees spread over three continents, time efficiency is likely a matter of fact, if not survival. His demeanour took me somewhat off guard. For what is, arguably, a legend in the hospitality business, he was surprisingly unassuming and radiated humility. Tall slim, fit and personable, with a business calmness that aligned with a person of power.

From the early day of The Government nightclub, to elegant Sophia in Toronto’s fashionable Yorkville and the Design District in Miami, to Weslodge in Dubai, Amal and Byblos (Toronto & Miami), private members’ club Clio, Canada’s largest dance music festival, VELD Music Festival, and Taglialatella Galleries (Toronto, New York, Palm Beach and Paris): these are just some of the places that Khabouth has curated among his impressive roster of entertainment lifestyle and art. “I like to mix art, fashion, entertainment and food,” Khabouth states.

“It’s never about the pasta or the steak… it’s about the overall experience,” he continues. “There’s only one question I ask myself, it’s: ‘Would I come back?'” A kind of simplistic opening to a conversation with a man that is anything but simplistic. At 62 years young, Kabouth still has a light in his eye that underlies a passion in his soul. The Khabouth experience is about breaking from convention and inventing new ways of bringing entertainment and hospitality to his customers and those of Ink Entertainment.

After 40 years of building his empire, he still focusses on his “family of employees” as the bedrock of his company and his underlying commitment to ensure that they understand customers’ needs. “We have 3,000 employees here and about 600 in Miami. My dilemma every day is how are these 3,600 people going to perform. If 10% aren’t performing, that’s 360 and that’s a big miss. This business is like a bicycle chain: if you are missing one link you’re dead.”

Like everyone in the hospitality business, Khabouth and Ink Entertainment were hit hard by the ravages of COVID and the recurring closedowns that ensued.

“The worst thing about COVID, other than the financial side, is that we lost a lot of great people who left the industry … At Akira Back, my GM went back to New York, the AGM went to Ireland and the Floor Manager went back to Montreal. People went home to be closer to their families [and never came back],” he says.

For Khabouth and his team, this clearly created a challenging void in an industry and a business with a philosophy squarely centred on delivering the quintessential customer experience. “When we reopened, we were forced to put people in positions they were not ready for.” You could see a pained expression when he says this. “Thankfully, we’re almost back to where we were. They said it would take us 10 years to rebuild, but we’ll be there in less than five.”

As we sat in KŌST, the conversation naturally transitioned to his prize possession: Bisha. “Hotel Bisha was the icing on the cake, I was able to put 30+ years of experience into one property,” says Khabouth. “The hotel is our most celebrated part of hospitality. Bisha is a lifestyle property. We have condominiums, we have restaurants, we have eclectic and fabulous rooms, we have a rooftop bar and pool with an amazing view of the city … and a Michelin-starred restaurant [because of its Michelin star chef Akira Back].”

“When we were opening Bisha, people said ‘this man has never opened a hotel.’ Without being arrogant, we proved everybody wrong. For years, we’ve been number two or number three on Google, and now we’re back to number two. Hopefully, one day we’ll be number one.”

Whereas most in the hotel world focus on the grandeur of the lobbies or the location in the city they reside, Khabouth has this innate ability to focus on the touch-points that make experiences memorable. “I always wanted Bisha to be serious, but not stuffy,” he explains. “My number one goal was to marry luxury with a lively, more energetic environment. The rooms are younger, sexy, cooler. A couple of times, we had someone ask for some of the artwork to be taken down. I like to be a bit edgy. I don’t like to play it safe. I’m 62 and I don’t want to feel 62 when I’m staying in a hotel.”

I asked Khabouth about his failures. “In the past, like back in 1989, it was all about celebrity chefs and that is something I never want to do again,” he reflects. “Chefs who dictate, they’re not part of the team, I didn’t enjoy that experience. In the last 15-20 years, I don’t remember anyone asking who is the chef. All the celebrity chefs from my era are either retired or TV personalities, but they’re not cooking anymore.” Again, this comes back to Khabouth’s belief and philosophy that everyone on the team has a role to play, but at the end of the day the power of the team trumps any one individual.

Despite the size of his worldwide roster, he is still very close to the hiring of key staff. “I am always looking for upcoming talent. I do a lot of homework to see if they have the talent, the vision, the drive. And 70% of my hiring is based on passion and drive. I can teach experience. Drive, you either have or you don’t. If they’re not driven, there’s nothing I can do for them. I can’t tell them how to smile, how to be hospitable and to say ‘how was your dinner’ and really mean it. Finding people with the passion and the drive is number one for me.”

I asked Charles what is the major difference today than when he started. “In the old days, our business was much more serious, run by people with experience. Now, there are a lot of young people opening individual places. There was more attention to detail in the old days. That luxury is gone in Toronto.”

Forever keeping ahead of the crowd, he added: “We are now working on elevating everything we are doing, from napkins to the bar, the service, the food and the quality of everything. Value is important. There’s a lot of price gauging that happens [out there]. I’m the worst at increasing prices. I want people to have value. Also, menu engineering is very important. Not just the menu selection, but the pricing range. We’re also working to make our restaurants more female-friendly. Without women enjoying a restaurant, you lose the warmth in the atmosphere”.

On the note of female-friendly, Khabouth is on the verge of opening Toronto’s first female-friendly steakhouse. “When was the last time you walked into a steakhouse and saw a table full of women sitting together?” he asks. “Never! So, we’re doing a female-friendly steakhouse. It will be friendlier, warmer. We’re four to five months out, that to me is a challenge and is exciting.” Being a few years older than Charles myself, it always excites me to see high energy entrepreneurs north of 60 who haven’t lost the sparkle in their eye when they discuss new endeavours, in breaking new ground. It’s the heart and soul of true entrepreneurs.

Toronto may be Khabouth’s home turf but, to be certain, the world is his oyster. Yet the conversation always seems to come back to Bisha, where he resides. The hotel is clearly a monument to his living legacy. “I want to take the Bisha brand around the world.  That would be my biggest achievement.”

For a man that has built so many spectacular venues and events from the ground up, he still seems to look to and enjoy the acknowledgement of his status and, indeed, his accomplishments. “A big turning point for me was walking down King Street [in Toronto], and one of the most influential people in the country walked across the street to say hello. I’ve gained respect from people who come from good families, and it was a turning point from the club-owner stigma I sometimes still deal with today.”

I asked him about the handle he has been labelled with: “The King of Clubs”. He sardonically laughed and emphatically stated, “I hate that title! It stuck with me because in my early years I dominated the night club scene in Toronto. But the title limits me. In the ’80s, if you owned a night club, you were considered a drug dealer. I’m a little on the boring side. I don’t party, I don’t drink. It allows me to stay focussed.”

When asked about the legacy he’ll leave, his understandable pride in his accomplishments comes forward. “I don’t want to sound cocky, but I broke a lot of ground: I was the first one to bring house music to Toronto, I won the biggest award of interior design globally, one of my restaurants was featured in Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous in the ’90s. I feel like I’ve brought a lot to the city, and I try do things out of the box and not copy. I get inspired by others who do great things.”

There’s a certain surprise and delightful strategy that universally riddles through the Khabouth experiences, be it a stay in his beloved Bisha, a morning brunch at one of his restaurants or a late-night cocktail at one of his nightclubs. Life with Charles is always special.

He made a point to finish our coffeeside interview with a closing thought. “When I call one of my managers and ask how was last night and they say, ‘Boss, we made $40,000 last night’, I say, ‘That’s not what I asked you.’ Were customers happy? Did our guests have a great experience? If you are constantly talking about how much money you make, it makes you all about the dollar signs… and that’s not an Ink Entertainment or Khabouth customer experience.”

The otherwise stoic expression of Charles changed as he stood up to leave. “I’m off to pickup my daughter for Easter lunch,” he said. A softness crept over his face, underlining that below this powerful business persona was very much a caring soul, who not only prized his family time, but made the time to chat with us on a holiday.

This writer, for one, looks forward to seeing what’s next for Charles. It certainly won’t be boring.

Photography courtesy of KŌST, Inked Entertainment, and Amy Pigeon