area
PROFILES
the
family business B E H I N D C R AV E
B
rothers Kam and Keyvan Talebi traveled to the United States from Iran in June 1979. But unlike previous summer vacations in America, the boys, ages 9 and 6, never returned home.
The Talebis’ trip happened because their mother, Shahnaz, had advanced-stage breast cancer and needed treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Their father, Karim, the chief financial officer of a large power-generation company in Iran, moved the boys here to be near their mother. Meanwhile, back home, Islamic revolutionaries overthrew the government. “When we came here, we certainly did not think that we were coming here to stay,” Kam Talebi reflects. “We thought that Mom would be seen at the hospital, and we would go back at the end of the summer, but here we are, some 30 years later.” Showing resolve, the Talebis adapted to their new home, learned English, earned college degrees and, in 2007, established Kaskaid Hospitality, an expanding restaurant business that began with Crave in Edina. Now, the Talebis have 18 restaurants and 2 event centers located in the Midwest, including the local Crave restaurant inside West Acres Mall.
family focus The Talebis credit family for their success, down to the name of the business, Kaskaid, which is a reconfigured collection of first initials of family members. For example, the S is for their mother, Shahnaz. She “is one of the miracle cases,” says Kam Talebi, 44. “She has gone through several relapses, but she has fought through them all. She is an absolute inspiration. She has beaten all the odds.”
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:: areawomanmagazine.com
WO R DS : R O B E RT BU R NS P H OTO G R A P H Y : PR OVIDED BY KA M & KE Y VA N TALEBI