On a warm summer night last month, the ground-floor restaurant space at the downtown Upten building (on 10th Avenue between the two Macleod Trails) was in full celebration mode. Wine and cocktails flowed, candles were lit in blessing, and dancers of all ages hit the floor, busting out their best traditional and modern dance moves. As the night unfolded, owner Sudha Thangavel walked the floor of her new restaurant, Kondattam, with a smile spread across her face.

For Thangavel, Kondattam isn’t just a restaurant. It’s a dream years in the making.

Thangavel isn’t new to the restaurant world. Her husband, Saravanan Senniappan, is behind the popular Big Fish and Open Range restaurants, and running a restaurant is more often than not a family affair. While those surf ’n’ turf restaurants have c

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