Rasputin

To put himself through school and earn his degree in mechanical engineering, Slava Sonin served tables and tended bar in his native city of Mogilev, Belarus. After graduation he married and relocated to Montreal with his wife Alla.

After several years working in his industry, Slava founded a software firm that provided operational programming for manufacturers. As things in the software and manufacturing industries changed, Slava began wanting a different kind of life. He sold his shares to his partner and re-entered the restaurant industry, joining his wife, who'd been serving tables, singing and managing in some of the city's Russian restaurants for over twelve years.

"After a while, clients were asking us when we'd open our own place," says Slava. So the couple, who bring decades of restaurant experience to the table, opened Rasputin, the first restaurant in the Greater Montreal area to offer Russian cuisine. Things picked up quickly, and now Rasputin is where locals turn to discover Eastern European cuisine and the place that Europeans frequent to enjoy tasty dishes from back home.