Padmanadi means 'Lotus Waterspring'. The restaurant was dedicated to Kasim's mother. The vision behind Padmanadi is to promote the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle to all.The staff at Padmanadi treat all customers like family. The focus is on making friends, not money. Padmanadi regularly contributes both time, money and food to charity, such as the local homeless shelter. Recently, Padmanadi held a charitable event where they raised money for Indonesian tsunami victimmore...See more text
In the heart of beef country, a family-run restaurant has defied the odds and carved out a vegetarian success story. Padmanadi was opened in 2002 by Kasim Kasim, who had operated a restaurant of the same name in Jakarta, Indonesia since the late 70s. Kasim realized there wasn’t anyone doing vegan and vegetarian-only food in Edmonton at the time and knew he could make it work. “The first three years we struggled,” says his daughter Maya Paramitha, “most people would have closed, but my dad believed in himself and stuck with it.” Eventually, word of mouth spread and the family was soon able to buy a bigger place.
Padmanadi’s success can be attributed to the family that runs it. Maya says she is blessed to be working alongside her parents and sister. “I’m grateful,” she adds. “You know, most people don’t get to spend 12 hours a day with their family. Our family relationship is very strong.”
That strong family relationship can be felt by all of the customers who visit Padmanadi, and are treated like friends. “We don’t want people to feel like they’re coming into a restaurant per se,” says Maya, “it’s more like they’re coming to a friend’s house.
