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Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #25, Charles Khabouth

Our annual ranking of the people whose smarts, connections and clout are changing the city as we know it

By Toronto Life

| November 19, 2015

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Charles Khabouth

INK Entertainment

25 Toronto’s leading club and restaurant mogul is still the guy to call if you need to get on an impossible guest list—chances are he owns the venue. Khabouth expanded his empire again in 2015, bringing the number of restaurants, clubs, bars and other dens of hedonism Ink owns or operates up to 17. He and partner Hanif Harji opened pizza and pasta spot Città in CityPlace, then spent $5 million to launch Yorkville’s opulent Japanese steak house NAO. Bisha, his luxury hotel-condo hybrid, will debut soon. And in the spring, he launched an American outpost of his Middle Eastern restaurant Byblos in the Royal Palm hotel in South Beach.

Up Next:

Khabouth and Harji paired with Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, and are set to debut the first Canadian location of the Japanese fine dining restaurant Morimoto in the Theatre Park building.

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Charles Khabouth

INK Entertainment

Up Next:

More of Toronto's Most Influential People

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #1, Drake

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #2, John Tory

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #3, Kathleen Wynne

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #4, George Cope

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #5, Gerald Butts

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #6, Guy Laurence

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #7, Ian Black

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #8, Jennifer Keesmaat

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #9, Larry Tanenbaum

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #10, Naomi Klein

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #11, Katie Telford

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #12, José Bautista

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #13, Patrick Brown

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #14, Piers Handling and Cameron Bailey

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #15, Randy Lennox

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #16, John Ruffolo

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #17, Nick Kouvalis

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #18, The Weeknd

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #19, Brendan Shanahan

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #20, Ted Livingston

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #21, Ratna Omidvar

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #22, David Thomson

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #23, Mark Saunders

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #24, Galen Weston

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #26, Eric Hoskins

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #27, Tim Hockey

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #28, Josh Donaldson

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #29, Jeff Remedios

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #30, Tatiana Maslany

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #31, Zunera Ishaq

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #32, Margaret Atwood

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #33, Anthony Rose

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #34, Marie Henein

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #35, Tanya Taylor

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #36, Jeff Stober

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #37, Kirstine Stewart

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #38, Chrystia Freeland

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #39, Kevin Donovan

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #40, Saäd Rafi

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #41, Gary Slaight

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #42, Kristin Cochrane

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #43, Matt Galloway

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #44, Katie Taylor

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #45, Sam Mizrahi

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #46, Peter Gilgan

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #47, Andre De Grasse

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #48, Mathieu Chantelois

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #49, Robert Deluce

Toronto’s 50 Most Influential: #50, Karen Kain

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