LAYTON — Hersh Ipaktchian is living the American dream. As the owner of several Wasatch Front restaurants, he has become what many would consider the epitome of success.
There's only one factor that makes him different from others in the same situation: He isn't a natural-born U.S. citizen. Ipaktchian was born in Iran and immigrated to the United States in 1956.
He arrived in Los Angeles with the mistaken impression that if he went to Hollywood, there would just be gold sitting around for him to pick up. "I found the gold was there, but I had to work for it," he said.
He came to the United States to find better opportunities than were available in his home country. The university there accepted only a few students, so the chance to go to college was limited. His parents always wanted their children to go to another country to get an education, so they sent Ipaktchian to the United States.
Not even having the ability to speak English, Ipaktchian attended Bellmont High School in Los Angeles, which was designed for foreign students. He discovered that many of his classmates were also not native speakers. He picked up on the language fairly quickly, in about six to eight months.
In addition to learning at school, Ipaktchian also started working a part-time job as a boxboy at a grocery store and went to movies to improve his language skills.
"I would go to see a lot of movies because movies had words with actions, which helped a great deal," he said.
His English progressed so well that after a year and a half in the United States, he was able to take an entrance exam to get into Weber State University. The four years he spent studying engineering at the university were very important for Ipaktchian. Not only did he meet his wife, a Utahn, during this time, but he also discovered his first business opportunity.
During college his wife had been working part time at Arctic Circle. After graduating from college, Ipaktchian found it difficult to break into the engineering job field. Without being an American citizen yet or having a green card, which he wouldn't get for a few years, he wasn't able to find a job with a local aerospace company.
"I couldn't get a job in the engineering field," he said. "I started working at Arctic Circle as a cook and liked the opportunities I saw, so I stayed with it."
Ipaktchian went on to become the manager of the Arctic Circle he worked at and bought it and two other Arctic Circle restaurants only a few years later. After acquiring the establishments, Ipaktchian needed a new challenge, so he opened an Italian restaurant called Anthony's, which expanded into a chain with five restaurants.
By this time, Ipaktchian found he liked the taste of the restaurant business, so he opened Peppercorn Steakhouse in Layton and built another one in Salt Lake City. He also opened yet another chain of restaurants called Mulboon's located in Ogden, Layton, Midvale, Salt Lake City and Provo.
"I was looking to build a restaurant with a fun concept by this time. High-end steakhouses were not as favorable, so I started Iggy's nine years ago," he said.
In addition to the original Iggy's Sports Grill, located in Layton, Ipaktchian also opened the Sky Bar, on top of the Red Lion Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. He has also turned Iggy's into its own chain with stores in West Jordan, Sandy and Salt Lake City and another one slated to open in six weeks. The other establishments he previously owned are no longer under his ownership.
While being an entrepreneur in the restaurant/food industry is not what Ipaktchian studied in college, he did take important classes and learn essential skills to help him become one. The motivational classes he took, making a plan for himself with goals and taking it step by step, have all helped him climb the ladder of success.
"Very, very rewarding is what (finding success with my restaurants) felt like," he said. "My family enjoyed the success along with me. It did take some time away from my family time. In fact, I have two sons in the business with me. I enjoy them being in the business with me, helping with the day-to-day operation of the restaurants."
Ipaktchian is a strong believer in the benefits of attending college and how it can help someone.
"What college does is it develops your mind, so you can make better decisions," he said. "The gold was here all along, and all I had to do was work to get it."
E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com