Setting the table for success

The owners of the Kicking Horse Grill and the Fire Pit BBQ Smokehouse say that Golden is a town worth immigrating to

Chris (L) and Martijn (R) Duijts combine European business sense with a laidback Canadian lifestyle. — Tanya Laing Gahr photo

Martijn Duijts and his cousin, Chris, first heard of Golden when a friend from Holland married a Canadian woman more than 10 years ago.

“A friend of hers was at the wedding, and she told us all about Golden and the coming resort,” said Martijn. “We weren’t looking to move to Golden then; we were looking at something in the Caribbean at the time.”

“We don’t regret it, though,” said Chris. “For me, personally, it’s been one of the best things I’ve done in my life.”

There are, of course, a number of ways in which Golden is different from their native Amsterdam, but for Chris, the most important is lifestyle, and the sustainability of that lifestyle.

“Look around you,” he said, gesturing to the snow-capped Purcell and Rocky Mountains. “This is our playground. When we have people visiting us from Europe who wonder why we enjoy it so much, we take them outside and show them around and say, ‘Now you have your answer.’ ”

Already adept in the restaurant business, Martijn and Chris opened Kicking Horse Grill, a contemporary restaurant that focuses on Canadian cuisine. Recently, they opened a second restaurant, the Fire Pit BBQ Smokehouse. Chris admits that the recession has affected the businesses.

“I think any entrepreneur will tell you that this hasn’t been a great year,” Chris said. “But we always come out of it,” said Martijn, “otherwise we wouldn’t have stuck around.”

Chris said that after 30 years in the business, they understand the economy is always cyclical, so the secret is preparing in advance for downturns.

“How can you prepare your business for the unknown?” he asked. “And you’re never prepared for everything. But if we can survive this—and we can—then we can survive anything.”